Graduate Student Travel Support Program for the 2009 V.M. Goldschmidt Conference

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Intellectual MeritThe 2009 V. M. Goldschmidt Conference in Davos, Switzerland will provide an excellent opportunity for young geochemists to share their research with the scientific community, learn about cutting edge research taking place around the world, and interact with senior scientists specializing in their specific realm of interest. Thematic issues to be addressed at the conference span a broad range of sub-disciplines in low- and high- temperature geochemistry, including Early Solar System Geochronology, Planetary Geochemistry, Early Earth, Continental Crustal Evolution, Mantle Dynamics, Mantle Geochemistry, Experimental Petrology, Fluids in the Crust and Mantle, Subduction Processes, Magmatic Processes, Thermochronolgy, and Resource Geochemistry. In addition to oral and poster presentation sessions, students will have an opportunity to participate in field trips to outstanding geological destinations, as well as short courses on geochemical analytical techniques including Laser Ablation ICP-MS in the Earth Sciences and Quality Assurance in Analytical Geochemistry. This proposal puts forth a method for fairly selecting and distributing travel support funds to the most qualified student applicants, in order to ensure that 30 or more have an opportunity to benefit from all the resources to be assembled at the conference. In addition to the funding requested from NSF, the Geochemical Society will contribute $10,000, bringing the total number of student opportunities to 40.Broader ImpactsInternational scientific meetings are the primary networking outlet for researchers of all experience levels. For graduate students, these meetings are often the first opportunity to interact with members of the international scientific community. As the premier international geochemical conference, the Goldschmidt Conference plays a critical role in introducing young researchers to the world of geochemistry beyond their home institutions. The lingering effects of such an international learning and networking experience can be life-changing for a graduate student struggling to gain a foothold in the scientific community. The proposed student travel support program will enable the best and brightest senior graduate students from the US and US Territories, students who might otherwise be unable to attend due to financial constraints at their home institutions, to benefit from all the advantages this meeting has to offer at this turning point in their respective careers. Every effort will be made to encourage women, under-represented minorities, and people with disabilities to apply for funding, and to ensure, as much as possible, that the full range of demographic diversity sampled by today's geosciences graduate student community is represented among the awardees. It is our sincere hope that encouraging participation by under-represented groups in international events such as the Goldschmidt Conference will increase the diversity of the core group of senior geoscientists in the years to come.