THE CLAY MINERALS SOCIETY STUDENT RESEARCH GRANTS

(revised 12/16/2009)

The Clay Minerals Society annually awards several grants of up to $3000 through its student research grant program.

Purpose
The research program is designed to provide partial financial support of masters and doctoral research for graduate students of clay science and technology.

Selection
Applications will be judged on a competitive basis. The qualifications of the applicant, the objectives, design, and financial need of the project will be evaluated. Applicants selected will be nominated by a five-member CMS committee and approved by the CMS Council. The grant awarded for the best proposal each year will be the Robert C. Reynolds, Jr. Research Award.

Application
Each applicant must complete an Application for Research Grant form available in hardcopy from the CMS Office or as a MSWord or PDF File. The applicant must obtain confidential evaluations from two faculty members (forms included).

Application deadline is 15 February 2010.

Use of Funds
Individual grants will not exceed $3000. Recipients of a CMS Student Research Grant automatically receive a one-year student membership in the CMS which will begin January of the year following receipt of the grant.

Grant money may be used for the costs of travel by the grantee to conduct research, room and board associated with research-related field work, or for the costs of equipment, supplies, and analyses required to complete the research. Grant money may not be used for expenses incurred for travel to professional meetings to present the results of this research. However, we strongly encourage grant recipients to present their research results at a future CMS meeting, and to apply for a Travel Grant at that time if funding for travel expenses is needed.

Recipients may apply for grants in subsequent years; however, no individual may receive more than one renewal of a previously funded project, or more than two grants for separate projects in separate years.

Also of Interest to Students
The Clay Minerals Society offers a reduced Student Membership rate of $20.00 per year, entitling students to:

• a subscription to Clays and Clay Minerals¨, one of the leading journals in the field of clay science
• Online Access to Clays and Clay Minerals¨ free to student members and subscribing members.
• For North American members, free membership in AIPEA, the international clay organization.
• Awards for best student papers and posters presented at the annual meeting.
• The Source Clays Project, which provides homogenous clay samples for research purposes.
• Member discounts on Publications of The Clay Minerals Society and the Mineralogical Society of America.
• Discounts on selected books of interest to clay scientists from other publishers.
• The most up-to-date information on the society’s latest publications and registration materials for the annual CMS Conference, including workshops and field trips.
• Free subscription for members to the international magazine of mineralogy, geochemistry, and petrology, Elements.

Through its conferences and publications, The Clay Minerals Society offers students the best means of following the many-sided growth of the clay sciences and of meeting fellow scientists and technologists with widely different backgrounds and interests.