GBGM GSA 2021 Student Presentation Awards!

Attention all student members of GBGM!

GSA 2021 in Portland is coming up soon, and we are excited to announce another year of GSA GBGM student awards for outstanding student oral and poster presentations. This is a great opportunity to get to know professionals in your field and show off the fantastic work you’re all doing.

If you are a student presenting research at GSA 2021 this year, either in person or virtually, and you would like to be considered for one of the GSA GBGM student awards, please fill out the following Google Form before September 10, 2021:

https://forms.gle/9xutpCGFHGaGmVGd8

Your GSA GBGM student representatives will assemble a team of impartial judges to view your presentations and collect their feedback, and we will announce the winners via email shortly after GSA ends. This year’s winners will be recognized during next year’s GSA meeting during our GBGM Division Award Presentation Event & Business Meeting.

We look forward to hearing from everyone and seeing your presentations this year! If you have any questions, feel free to email Zoë Havlena (zoe.havlena@student.nmt.edu) or Alison Cribb (cribb@usc.edu).

Winners of the GSA GBGM Division Student Presentation Awards

Dear Geobiology and Geomicrobiology Division Members,

It is our pleasure to announce the winners of the GSA 2020 student presentation awards. We were all so impressed with the quality of presentations by our student members, especially given that for many of us, this was our first time attending and presenting at a virtual conference.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our members who judged this year's competition. Without your feedback and support, this endeavor would not be possible. There were many interesting talks and posters at this year's GSA Meeting, so thank you to everyone who participated.

To all of our students, congratulations on presenting at GSA this year. All of the excellent entries from you all truly made choosing winners difficult, but here are the students who will receive an award this year:

Best oral presentation winners:

• Gwen Antell - "Thermal Niches of Planktonic Foraminifera are Static Throughout Glacial-Interglacial Climate Change"
• Jack Shaw - "Methodological Advances in Inferring Ancient Food Webs"

Best poster presentation winners:

• Yu Kai Tan - "Freshwater Mussels in North America: Museum Collections and Pre-Industrial Biogeography"
• Amelia Lindsay Kaufman - "Two Novel Biomineralized Tubular Fossils from the Terminal Ediacaran, Central Iran"

Honorable mentions:

• Erica Scarpitti (oral presentation) - "Association Between Tympanic Bulla Morphology and Locomotion in Rodents: Application to the Fossil Record"
• Katie Maloney (oral presentation) - "Possible Multicellular Green Algae in Early Tonian Marine Environments"
• Tian Gan (poster presentation) - "Paleo-Speleothems as Evidence for Widespread Karstification in the Aftermath of the Marinoan Deglaciation (635 Ma) in South China"

As with previous years, we will be handing out prizes to our award winners at GBGM awards luncheon next year at GSA 2021.

We'd like to thank all of the students who contacted us and put their names forward for consideration. It was a real privilege to see and hear about the work you've been doing, and we encourage you to enter again next year. Recognizing the excellent work of our members is the most important aspect of the GBGM division, so please stay in touch. It is wonderful to see the faces of the student population of GSA GBGM and there is a bright future ahead for this group!

Thank you,
Alison Cribb and the GSA Geobiology and Geomicrobiology Division

GSA Opportunities and Webinars

Please see below for several GSA Scholarships and Webinars!

Scholarships/Fellowships
Expanding Representation in Geosciences (ERG) Scholarship
Students from groups underrepresented in the geosciences can support their undergraduate studies with funding from the ERG scholarship program. Deadline: 15 May.

On To the Future Travel Awards to the 2020 GSA Annual Meeting
GSA encourages applications from low-income, minority, first-generation, non-traditional, and LGBTQ+ students, veterans, students with disabilities, and others to apply. Deadline: 29 May. 

[learn more]

GSA Science Communication Fellowship
Passionate about communicating science? Looking to expand your professional horizons? GSA is seeking science writers and scientists aspiring to increase their knowledge and skill for communicating geoscience and its value to society. This 10-month, non-resident fellowship presents a unique opportunity to gain experience and professional contacts, working in concert with GSA communications and member leaders. Deadline: 31 May.

[learn more | apply]


GeoCareers Webinars
Career Pathways: The Presidential Management Fellows Program and the USDA Forest Service
Wed., 22 Apr., 11 a.m. MDT
[register]

Professional Geologist Licensure Requirements and Strategies for Success in Environmental & Engineering Geology Jobs
Wed., 29 Apr., 11 a.m. MDT
[register]


Geoscientists-in-the-Parks
Fall/Winter 2020–2021 Opportunities
Gain hands-on experience assisting with geology and integrated science projects in National Parks by applying to the Geoscientists-in-the-Parks program. Applications accepted 1 May–15 June.
[learn more]

GSA 2019 Student Awards

Dear Geobiology and Geomicrobiology (GBGM) Division Members,

It is our pleasure to announce the winners of the 2019 student presentation awards. This year we had a record number of student participants and there were many interesting talks and posters at this year's GSA Meeting, so thank you to everyone who participated! As usual, we were all impressed with the quality and diversity of research conducted by our student members! Presentation feedback has been sent out.

The many excellent entries always make it difficult to choose winners, but here are the presentations that rose to the top.

Oral presentation winners:

Remy Rovelli - Using Paleoenm to predict patterns of survivorship in the hell creek formation ecosystems across the k/pg mass extinction

Samantha Ocon - Best practices for instagram as a geoscience education tool

Poster presentation winners:

Cathryn Sephus - Shedding light on phototrophic pigment evolution: reconstruction of ancestral rhodopsins

Martina Bennick - Determining the origin of intracameral deposits in the orthocerid genusarionoceras

Honorable mention:

Jasmina Wiemann - Metazoan biomolecule fossilization products record phylogeny, physiology, and biomineralization

Kathryn Mudica - Lead burden in long bones of north american river otters

As with previous years, we'll be handing out prizes at GBGM awards luncheon next year (GSA 2020). If you think you're not going to be able to make it to the meeting, please contact Rowan Martindale, and we'll find a way to get your award sent to you.

We'd like to thank all of the students who contacted us and put their names forward for consideration; it was a real privilege to see and hear about the work you've been doing, and we encourage you to enter again next year. Recognizing the excellent work of our members is the most important aspect of the GBGM division, so please stay in touch. It is wonderful to see the faces of the student population of GSA GBGM and there is a bright future ahead for this group!

We would especially  liketo express our deepest gratitude to our members who judged this year's competition. Without your feedback and support, this endeavor would not be possible. We are also very grateful to our student representative Amanda Godbold and Andrew Putt for coordinating everything.

All the best,

Rowan, Vicky, David, Trinity, Lydia, Simon

GSA GBGM Division Executive Committee

Amanda Godbold and Andrew Putt

GSA GBGM Division Student Representatives

Paleontological Society Student Representative

The Paleontological Society is soliciting nominations for a Student Representative to Council.

Eligibility: Nominations are encouraged from paleontology graduate students who are early-mid stage in their graduate programs from all backgrounds and institutions, particularly those that have historically been under-represented on the Paleontological Society Council.

The Role: Student Representatives serve as voices for student needs in the Society and play leading roles in student activities including organizing student events at the Geological Society of America Conference. Student Representatives are further encouraged to develop and lead new student initiatives. In this role, students gain knowledge of the inner-workings of an international organization and experience in professional service.

The selected Student Representative (who will start her/his role in the Fall) will join current Student Representative Bridget Kelly and serve a two-year term. Student Representatives attend two Council meetings per year (one during fall at the Geological Society of America Conference and the other during spring in Bethesda, MD).

Application: Please submit 1) a cover sheet listing your name, degree (MS, MA, PhD, etc.), expected graduation year, and email address, 2) a short letter of nomination from the student’s academic mentor or other faculty member at the student’s home institution and 3) a concise essay (of no more than 500 words) written by the student detailing interest in the role, previous experience with professional service (if any), and what the student hopes to accomplish through her/his service.

Applications should be sent by the student’s nominator as a single PDF to current Student Representative, Kristopher Kusnerik at kmkusnerik@ufl.edu with the subject line “Student Representative Nomination (insert student’s name)”. Deadline for consideration is February 18, 2019.

The Student Representative will be selected in March. Please feel free to contact Kris with any additional questions at the above email.

2018 student presentation award winners

It is our pleasure to announce the winners of the 2018 student presentation awards. As usual, we were all impressed with the quality and diversity of research conducted by our student members! Presentation feedback will be sent out in the next week or so (hopefully while everything is still fresh in your memory).

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our members who judged this year's competition. Without your feedback and support, this endeavour would not be possible. We are also very grateful to our student representative Amanda Godbold and Dylan Wilmeth for coordinating everything.
There were many interesting talks and posters at this year's GSA Meeting, so thank you to everyone who participated. The many excellent entries always make it difficult to choose winners, but here are the presentations that rose to the top.

Oral presentation winners:

Kathryn Mudica - Bioaccumulation Of Legacy Pollutants Using Lontra Canadensis (North American River Otter) As A Bioindicator

Erynn Johnson - 3D Printing Reveals Strengths And Weaknesses Of Prey Shape During The Mesozoic Marine Revolution


Poster presentation winners:
Broc Kokesh - Phenotypic Trajectory Analysis Reveals Temporal Divergence Of Shell Shape In Bivalves From Adjacent Marine Lakes

Maggie Stephenson - From Palm Savannahs To Hardwood Hammocks And Back: Palynology Of The Paleocene-Eocene Manawianui Drive Section, Bastrop County, TX


Honourable Mention:
Alison Cribb - Ecosystem engineering in the Ediacaran Nama Group, Namibia as a test for biological driver extinction of the Ediacara biota


As with previous years, we'll be handing out prizes at GBGM awards luncheon next year (GSA 2019). 

We'd like to thank all of the students who contacted us and put their names forward for consideration; it was a real privilege to see and hear about the work you've been doing, and we encourage you to enter again next year. Recognizing the excellent work of our members is the most important aspect of the GBGM division, so please stay in touch. It is wonderful to see the faces of the student population of GSA GBGM and there is a bright future ahead for this group!

All the best,

Rowan, Vicky, David, Trinity, Lydia, Simon

GSA GBGM Division Executive Committee