2020 North American Geosynthetic Student Awards

IGS-North America (IGS-NA) and the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) are pleased to invite current students and students that have graduated during the 2016-2019 period (with a BS, MS, or Ph.D. degree) to participate in the 2020 North American Geosynthetics Student Awards Program.

• Submittal of a research abstract by 26 June 2019
• Subsequent submittal of the first version of a research paper by 06 October 2019
• Participation as a North American Delegate to the GeoAmericas 2020 Conference, the 4th Pan American Conference on Geosynthetics to be held in beautiful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 26 to 29 April 2020 (https://www.geoamericas2020.com/)

Participants will qualify for exciting honors and awards, as follows:

• All students with accepted papers will join the North American Student Delegation to GeoAmericas 2020
• The authors of the top three papers will have all travel expenses and registration fees paid for their trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• The author of the top paper will receive additional compensation of $1,000 as well as the opportunity to participate in a subsequent intercontinental competition among student winners from various countries, to be held during GeoAmericas 2020

Relevant information regarding participation criteria, the timeline and selection process, honors and awards as well as selection criteria is included below. We look forward to your participation in this important initiative.

North American Geosynthetic Student Award Committee
Jorge Zornberg, Past-President, IGS
Ben Leshchinsky, Vice-President, IGS-North America
Fred Chuck, Chairman, GMA Executive Council

Honors and Awards:

• All students with accepted papers that participate in the conference will be recognized as members of the North American Student Delegation to GeoAmericas 2020. In addition to the conference benefits, this includes:
  • Certificate of recognition from IGS-NA and GMA
  • Invitation to reception honoring the NA Student Delegation, along with IGS-NA board and GMA members
  • Opportunity to participate in special activities organized as part of the IGS Student Awards Program and the Young IGS Member Committee
• The authors of the top three papers will have all expenses for their trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and participation in the conference covered. Specifically, the award will cover the following expenses:
  • Round trip airfare from awardee place of residence in North America to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Lodging at a hotel in the vicinity of the conference venue
  • A $250.00 stipend to cover travel incidentals
  • Student registration fee to the conference
• The author of the top paper will be further recognized, as follows:
  • Additional compensation of $1,000 to be presented at the conference venue
  • Participation in the subsequent IGS intercontinental competition among winners student winners from various countries, to be held during GeoAmericas 2020 (https://www.geosyntheticssociety.org/igs-students-awards-2018-to-2021/)

Participation criteria:

• The participant should either be a current student or should have graduated during the 2016-2019 period
• The degree pursued by current students or already earned by recent graduates may be a BS, MS, or PhD. However, the research documented in the paper submitted should have been conducted primarily as a student
• Participating students and faculty advisors must be members of IGS-NA. If you are not currently an IGS-NA member, you can become one easily online (https://igs-na.org/membership/). Note that membership for current students is free!
• The student should be the first author of the paper and it is recommended that the faculty advisor be the second author
• Participants in previous IGS-NA student competitions may also participate in the 2020 Student Awards Program

Timeline and selection process:

• 14 June 2019 (Optional): Send email to info@igs-na.org with the subject “Expression of Interest: 2020 Student Award.” Include your name, institution, advisor, and theme of your planned abstract. This will help organizers identify reviewers for a fast submission turnaround.
• 26 June 2019: Deadline for abstract submittal through the GeoAmericas 2020 website (https://www.geoamericas2020.com/abstracts-submission)
  • Submissions for the 2020 Student Awards Program will also serve as submissions for GeoAmericas 2020 conference papers and should therefore follow conference guidelines (e.g. abstract length)
  • In addition to submitting the abstract through the conference website, please also submit as attachment via email to info@igs-na.org with the subject heading “2020 Student Award”
  • Ensure that the following four points are addressed in your abstract: 1) A brief description of the importance of the work (what problem it addresses/solves); 2) A summary of the main results and lessons learned; and 3) The application/benefit to others
• 03 July 2019: Notification will be sent to participants whose abstracts have been accepted
• 06 October 2019: Deadline for participants with accepted abstracts to submit a paper manuscript (first version).
  • Manuscript should be submitted through the GeoAmericas 2020 website so that it is officially part of the conference review process.
  • the GeoAmericas 2020 website.
  • Manuscript should also be submitted as attachment via email to info@igs-na.org with the subject heading “2020 Student Award”
  • Pay attention to the evaluation criteria (as listed below) during preparation of your manuscript
• 01 December 2019: Notification will be sent to participants whose papers have been accepted to the GeoAmericas 2020 Conference (based on first version)
• 08 December 2019: Notification will be sent to participants selected by a panel of judges to receive the 2020 North American Geosynthetic Student Awards based on the previously submitted manuscript
• 15 December 2019: Deadline to confirm acceptance of the award and participation as North American Student Delegate
• 26 January 2020: Deadline for submittal of final version of manuscript, incorporating any corrections recommended by the reviewers
• 26-29 April 2020: Participation of North American Student Delegation in GeoAmericas 2020 Conference

Evaluation Criteria:

• The papers will be judged based on:
  • Clear introduction to the topic and statement of objectives
  • Sufficient detail in research method
  • Literary quality of the paper
  • Technical value of the research
  • Creativity and innovation, key contributions