Each academic year, the Cave Research Foundation (CRF) accepts proposals for graduate student research in cave and karst studies. Proposals may be in any field of the earth, natural, or social, sciences as long as the research addresses topics related to caves or karst. The Foundation may award up to $10,000 annually, distributed among one or more grant recipients. Typically, awards range from $1,000 to $3,000. The truly exceptional proposal, which involves two or more scientific disciplines, may receive a Thomas C. Kane Memorial Award and up to an additional $2,000 in grant support. Students must be enrolled in a degree-granting institution. Competition is open to U.S. and international institutions, but application materials must be in English. Research at either the Master's or Ph.D. level is eligible.
Thomas C. Kane Memorial Award for Interdisciplinary Research in Karst Science. Tom Kane (1945-2004), professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Cincinnati represented the best in combining a strong theoretical grasp of the issues with tremendous amounts of fieldwork. His research ranged from predacious interaction between cave beetles and cricket eggs (his Ph.D. research at Notre Dame) to the evolution of troglomorphy to the ecological analysis of a chemoautotrophic groundwater ecosystem in Movile Cave, Romania. This memorial award is given at the discretion of the review committee for proposed work that shows a creative merging of two or more disciplines in a way that is likely to result in innovative methods or novel interpretations.
The Foundation attaches two conditions to the research grant:
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The grantee will prepare a summary report of the research for publication in the CRF Annual Report. If the field project is short duration (1 years or less), a single final report is required. Longer projects should provide yearly progress reports. Final reports are due within one year after completion of the field research.
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The Cave Research Foundation is acknowledged as a supporter of the research in any publications deriving from the research.
The following materials are required as part of the application:
A title and abstract. The abstract should not exceed 250 words and be understandable to a non-specialist audience.
A proposal describing the intended research. The text of the proposal should be no more than ten (10), single-spaced pages in length (12 pt font, 1 inch margins) and should discuss the problem to be addressed, background, significance of the research, methods to be used, and list of references cited.
Schedule for the proposed research and a budget. Indicate other sources of funding or grant programs to which you are applying.
Two (2) letters of reference. One letter must be from your graduate advisor or committee chair.
A curriculum vitae. This should include a list of peer-reviewed papers, presentations at conferences, honors, and any other information relevant to your qualifications for research and professional work.
In preparing the proposal, it is important to remember that several karst scientists will review the proposal. These scientists may include geologists, biologists, hydrologists, archaeologists, and others. Reviewers are more likely to support research that has broad significance to cave and karst studies.
An Adobe Reader (.pdf) version of the grant flier is available for download here.
Proposal deadline: Monday, March 1, 2010.
Preference is for application material to be submitted electronically as Adobe Reader files (.pdf), Microsoft Word files (.doc or .docx), or rich text files (.rtf) to the grant committee chair, Dr. George Crothers: george.crothers@uky.edu
Or a hard copy may be submitted by surface mail to:
1825 Williamsburg Rd.
Lexington, KY 40504
U.S.A.
All material must be received by the proposal deadline. Reference letters may be sent electronically or by surface mail, but should be sent directly to the grant committee chair by the referee.
Applicants may wish to contact the grant committee chair prior to submitting a full proposal to discuss their research topic and appropriateness to the grant program.
