Student Opportunities at Illinois Water 2014

One of the biggest reasons we started holding Illinois Water conferences on the University of Illinois campus is because it's easier for students to attend. In addition to all the talks and plenaries, we’ve created several opportunities uniquely for students. We hope you’ll take advantage of them in October.

Poster Session: The student poster session will take place on the evening of October 14. Students will have an opportunity to present their research to fellow conference attendees and compete for best poster awards. The deadline for poster abstracts is July 9, 2014. You can submit a poster abstract through this form.

Registration Scholarships: If you have submitted a poster or presentation, you are eligible to submit an application for a registration scholarship. While we try to keep the registration costs as low as possible, sometimes low isn’t low enough where you are a full time student. And if you’re not presenting, you’re still welcome to apply for a scholarship, although we try to accommodate presenting students first. If you only want to attend one session or wander through the posters, don’t worry, you don’t need to register at all. Do stop at the registration table and say “hi,” though. We love to know who attended the conference, and we could probably get you a free pen.  

Water Careers Panel: As you know by now, we here at IWRC love talking about water jobs, so of course we organize a career panel every Water Conference. This year we’ve even invited a Water Jobs alum to join our panel and tell you about the joys of water planning. Other guest speakers may include an aquatic ecologist at a nonprofit, a stormwater engineer, and a college professor. The panel will take place during lunch on Wednesday, October 15 and include lots of time for questions.      

Illinois Water Related Scholarships, Fellowships, and Grants

The following is a list of possible future funding sources available to students from and in Illinois. If your organization is not listed here and you would like to be included, please contact us.

Illinois Only:

• The Illinois Water Environment Association awards two annual $1,000 scholarships to students preparing for careers in the water environment. Applications are accepted December 1, 2014 until January 31, 2015. Scholarships are awarded at the IWEA Annual Conference in March. Full information can be found on IWEA’s website.
• The Illinois Section of the American Water Works Association provides a variety of scholarships, including undergraduate, adult continuing education, and high school enrichment. While the 2015 scholarships are not open, yet, the application deadline is usually January 31. Complete information can be found here.
• The Illinois Groundwater Association provides small research grants on a biannual basis to both graduate and undergraduate students attending a college or university in Illinois. Research must address topics relevant to Illinois groundwater and grant recipients can present their research findings at IGA meetings.
• The Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts provides a $500 award to agriculture students enrolled in an Illinois state college. Applications are due in May and awarded for the fall semester.
• The Illinois Lakes Management Association offers an Undergraduate/Graduate scholarship of $1,000 for students enrolled in an Illinois college or Illinois residents attending college in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, or Wisconsin and studying lake or watershed related topics. They also provide the Robert Esser Student Achievement Scholarship for $500, which is offered to Illinois residents attending Illinois colleges. Both applications are due December 31. Full information about both scholarships is available here.
• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is offering a $500 scholarship opportunity for students enrolling in their one-year Water Quality Control Operations Program. This scholarship is offered through the Environmental Resources Training Center for any relative of a water or wastewater professional. The program begins August 19^th, so applications can be filed online here.

National or International:

• The Society of Wetland Scientists provides student research grants of up to $1,000 to both undergraduate and graduate members of the organization. Grant applications are not currently being accepted, but check back for updates. Application packages require a proposal, budget, curriculum vitae, and two letters of recommendation.
• The Ivanhoe Foundation provides small fellowships to Masters students from developing countries conducting water related research in the United States. Applications include a description of the projects and a nomination letter from the student’s professor.
• The American Water Works Association provides information about a myriad of (mostly) graduate level scholarships. Deadlines vary, but for those of you interested in drinking water or water supply, make sure you take a good look at their Scholarship page.
• The American Water Resources Association makes two $2,000 scholarships to one graduate and one undergraduate student members of AWRA. Applications are due in April. Awards are based on academic performance, research, and water-related extra-curricular activities.
• Funding of up to $7,000 per year can be potentially awarded to an undergraduate mechanical or chemical engineering student that demonstrates interest to seek a career in the water technology field. Through the International Water Conference, the Joseph A. Levendusky Memorial Scholarship is available to any student of sophomore or higher class standing in an accredited U.S. institution. The deadline is September 5, 2014 and applications can be found here.

Summer Conferencing

We wanted to take a moment today to mention several conferences taking place this summer that may be of special interest to our audience.

• The joint Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR), National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR), and Consortium for Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) Conference will take place this June 18-20 at Tufts University in Medford, MA. This is the first time these three organizations have held a joint conference, and it promises to be a dynamic event. This year’s theme is Water Systems, Science, and Society Under Global Change, and it will feature multiple plenary speakers discussing everything from the world’s water challenges to water reuse to agricultural water security. A preliminary conference program can be downloaded here, while complete registration information is listed here. While it’s too late to submit posters and abstracts, you can still attend and soak in all the offerings. Don’t forget to send us postcards!

• The CUAHSI Biennial Colloquium 2014: “Water across the Critical Zone: Scaling from Local to Global Hydrology” will take place July 28-30 at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV. The conference will focus on integrating hydrology, ecology, and geological information to address Critical Zone science, and includes plenaries, concurrent sessions, a poster session, workshops, and special events. The National Conservation Training Center is located in a stunningly beautiful portion of West Virginia and an easy drive to attractions like Harpers’ Ferry National Historical Park. Early registration discounts apply until June 6, and abstracts for posters are accepted until May 30. There are also student funding opportunities available.  

Scholarships, Fellowships, and Grants for Illinois Students

A listing of some of the funding sources available to students from and in Illinois. If we missed your organization, and you would like to be included, please contact us.

Illinois Only:

• The Illinois Water Environment Association awards two annual $1,000.00 scholarships to students preparing for careers in the water sector. Applications are due November 1, 2013 until January 31, 2014. Scholarships are awarded at the IWEA meetings in March. Full information can be found on IWEA’s website. 
• The Illinois Section of the American Water Works Association provides a variety of scholarships, including undergraduate, adult continuing education, and high school enrichment. While the 2014 scholarships are not yet open, the application deadline is usually January 31. Complete information can be found here.
• The Illinois Groundwater Association provides small research grants on a biannual basis to both graduate and undergraduate students attending a college or university in Illinois. Research must address topics relevant to Illinois groundwater.
• The Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts provides a $500 award to agriculture students enrolled in an Illinois state college. Applications are due in May and awarded for the fall semester.
• The Illinois Lakes Management Association offers an Undergraduate/Graduate scholarship of $1,000 for students enrolled in an Illinois college or Illinois residents attending college in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, or Wisconsin and studying lake or watershed related topics. They also provide the Robert Esser Student Achievement Scholarship for $500, which is offered to Illinois residents attending Illinois colleges. Both applications are due December 31. Full information about both scholarships is available here.

National or International:

• The Society of Wetland Scientists provides student research grants of up to $1,000 to both undergraduate and graduate members of the organization. Applications are due in February and awarded at the annual meetings. Application packages require a proposal, budget, curriculum vitae, and two letters of recommendation.
• Pathfinder Fellowships from the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) provide up to $5,000.00 to graduate students for travel for multisite or multidisciplinary water science research. The application period opens August of 2013 and closes in October.
• The Ivanhoe Foundation provides small fellowships to Masters students from developing countries conducting water related research in the United States. Applications include a description of the projects and a nomination letter from the student’s professor.  
• The American Water Works Association provides information about a myriad of (mostly) graduate level scholarships. Deadlines vary, but for those of you interested in drinking water or water supply, make sure you take a good look at their Scholarship page.
• The American Water Resources Association makes two $2,000 scholarships to one graduate and one undergraduate student member of AWRA. Applications are due in April. Awards are based on academic performance, research, and water-related extra-curricular activities.