FoVea Travel and Networking Award
Females of Vision et al. (FoVea) is excited to announce its 7th round of the FoVea Travel and Networking Award. At least six awards will be funded by the National Science Foundation and the journal Visual Cognition. The FoVea Travel and Networking Award includes up to $1600 to cover costs for attending the 2023 Vision Science Society (VSS) meeting. Funds can be used to cover costs involved in attending the 2023 VSS meeting, including travel, membership fees, and conference registration fees. Some of the Travel and Networking Award funds can also be used for childcare costs.
Application submission is now closed. Awards will be announced in early April.
EXTENSION: Submissions are due on March 6th, 2023 [extended from previous date of February 24th, 2023]
The FoVea Travel and Networking Award is open to all members of the Vision Science Society (VSS) who identify as women. Applicants may hold pre-doctoral, post-doctoral, pre-tenure faculty, or research scientist positions. Women, transgender, and intersex individuals are all welcome and encouraged to apply. FoVea is working toward advancing the success of all female vision scientists and strives to be inclusive to members of all races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
FoVea created this award as part of its mission to advance the visibility, impact, and success of women in vision science. A report from Cooper and Radonjic (2016) indicated that in 2015, the ratio of women to men in VSS was near equal at the pre-doctoral level (1:1.13), but decreased as career stage increased. The decline is symptomatic of forces that impede the professional development of female vision scientists. A key aspect of professional development is building a professional network to support scientific pursuits and to provide mentorship at critical junctions in one’s academic career. The FoVea Travel and Networking Award will help female vision scientists build their professional network by encouraging them to meet with two Networking Targets at the VSS meeting to discuss their research and consider potential for collaboration. The Networking Targets can be of any gender.
The goals of the FoVea Travel and Networking Award are to:
1. Increase the visibility of women by giving them the opportunity to meet and have a one-on-one discussion with a senior scientists at the meeting.
2. Increase the productivity of women by potentially stimulating collaborative research with the Networking Targets.
3. Increase the networking skills of women, both those who apply for, and win the awards, and those who peruse the written reports of awardees on the FoVea website (www.foveavision.org).
4. Increase the accessibility of VSS for excellent female vision scientists.
5. Increase the number of awards female vision scientists can list on their CVs, thereby enhancing their professional profile.
Materials to be submitted by the applicant:
The following materials should be combined in a single PDF and uploaded through the Submit Application link.
- CV
- Networking Plan. (500 word limit). The networking plan is a proposal describing the applicant’s plan to network with two senior scientists during the VSS 2023 meeting. The plan should include an explanation for why the applicant chose these particular Networking Targets, a plan for what topics she will discuss with her Networking Targets during the meeting, and a statement of how she hopes that forging a relationship with the Networking Targets will help advance her research/career agenda.
- NEW THIS YEAR: DEI statement. (250 word limit). The DEI statement is a description of the ways in which the applicant is increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in Vision Science. This statement may include ways in which the applicant increases DEI representation and/or ways in which the applicant’s activities are bringing new opportunities for representation in Vision Science or the broader community.
- Networking Target statements of agreement. The statements of agreement are brief statements from each senior scientist named as the Networking Targets, indicating that they will meet with the applicant during VSS. The statement should simply say the following: “I agree to serve as a Networking Target for [name of applicant], and will meet with them during VSS 2023.” This is not a letter of recommendation, and should not elaborate on the merits of the applicant. Networking Targets can provide this statement in an email to the applicant or, if they prefer, written on letterhead. Statements of agreement should be included in the single PDF of application materials submitted by the applicant.
- Budget: A budget indicating how funds will be spent if awarded. The budget can total up to $1600, and award amounts will be allocated based on the requested budget. The budget can include the following expenses:
- VSS conference registration fee
- VSS membership fee
- Childcare costs (e.g., daycare or other child-care related costs, approximation is fine)
- Travel to VSS
- Room accommodation costs during VSS: The cost of the conference hotel is covered, but stays at other hotels are covered only up to a maximum allowed by the University of Arizona ($121/night).
- Meal per diems for lunch and dinner ($51/day): Lunches and dinners on a per diem basis for those days when the conference registration fee does not include dinner (breakfast cannot be included because VSS provides breakfast)
Materials to be submitted by the applicant’s advisor, research supervisor, or department head:
1. A letter of recommendation from the applicant’s advisor, research supervisor, or department head. This letter should be submitted by the letter writer through the Submit Recommendation link.
Awardees will agree to write a report on their networking methods and outcomes after the conference by July 1, 2023. FoVea will post these reports on its website.
ELIGIBILITY: An applicant must a women in vision science who is a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, research scientist (non-tenure track), or junior faculty member (pre-tenure). Women, transgender, and intersex individuals are all welcome and encouraged to apply.
REVIEW PROCESS: Applications will be reviewed by a committee consisting of three members of the VSS community with Karen Schloss as Chair. Awards will be announced at the end of March.
REIMBURSEMENT: After the conference, reimbursement is typically handled quickly, up to the $1600 limit. Original receipts are required. (Note that childcare receipts only can be signed notes.) For non-US applicants, a tax may be deducted from the travel award, as per US regulations.
QUESTIONS can be sent to fovea.award@gmail.com.
FoVea Committee: Diane Beck, Mary Peterson, Charisse Pickron, Karen Schloss, and Allison Sekuler