Student Membership
Student membership is highly encouraged and is offered at the reduced rate of $10 per annum. Benefits of membership for students include eligibility for conference travel grants, conference presentation awards and networking with other students. Students must be members of the Society to be eligible for all student awards detailed below.
SIL Trust Fund Travel Awards
The aims of this award is to enable outstanding young scientists to attend overseas conferences, seminars or workshops, or to visit institutions to learn techniques, develop expertise, use equipment, collections or library facilities not available in New Zealand. Full details of this award, including application form and deadlines can be found on the awards page.
V. H. Jolly Conference Travel Grants
NZFSS offers funding to assist students with travel costs to the annual Freshwater Sciences conference through the V.H. Jolly Travel Fund. Violet Hilary Jolly was a pioneering freshwater scientist and founder member of the Society who did much to encourage student participation in the Society’s early years. Apply by sending an email requesting consideration for the Award to the Secretary/Treasurer (Brian Sorrell, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)), following the criteria listed here:
- Contact the Secretary/treasurer and provide your details either before or during the conference;
- You have to be presenting either a talk or a poster;
- You must be a current NZFSS member (see Membership);
- There is $100 per person available up to an total amount each year equivalent to half of the interest earned on NZFSS bank accounts;
- If there are more than applicants than funds available, those that have travelled the fartherest get first priority;
- Funds are usually distributed after the conference.
Conference Awards
The following student awards are awarded at the Society’s annual conference each year:
- NZFSS Best Student Paper Award ($500). Find the criteria here
- SIL Trust Prize Best Oral Presentation ($500)
- SIL Trust Prize Best Masters or Honours Oral Presentation ($250)
- SIL Trust Prize Best Poster ($250)
In addition, a number of sponsored prizes are presented each year such as the following awards:
- Department of Conservation Best Conservation Paper
- Department of Conservation Best Conservation Poster
- Golder NZ Best Applied Paper ($150)
- Golder NZ Best Applied Poster ($150)
Guidelines for Student Presentations
Some excellent guidelines for students have been produced by the Australian Society for Limnology (ASL). We have adapted this judging protocol and you can see what the judges will be marking you on.
If you are preparing an oral presentations and posters for the NZFSS conference, you will also find it useful to look at the judging forms:
Student Judging Form Oral Presentations
Student Judging Form Posters
Scholarships
PhD opportunity to research carbon and water exchange in a New Zealand peatland
We are seeking a motivated and energetic PhD student to undertake research on carbon and water exchange processes in the globally unique peat wetlands of northern New Zealand. The PhD project is funded as part of a New Zealand-wide research programme focussed on improving wetland ecosystem restoration and protection. The research methodology will be based around an eddy covariance system to be established within one of NZ’s largest intact peat bogs, and will focus on understanding natural functions of the peatland including variations in seasonal and annual carbon exchange driven by weather and climate variability.
Candidates must have a masters or honours degree in an appropriate subject area, such as biogeosciences, ecology, ecohydrology or a related environmental science discipline. A quantitative background is preferred, and field experience, familiarity with eddy covariance systems or data, plus programming experience in Matlab would be advantageous.
Funding for the PhD includes a 3-year scholarship of $25,000 (NZD), plus study fees and research costs.
The position is available from 1 February 2011, but a later date is possible. Review of applications will begin 15 December, 2010.
Enquiries should be directed to Dr Dave Campbell, Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)