Kenneth and Barbara Starks Plant Resistance to Insects Graduate Student Research Award

This Entomological Foundation award was established by an endowment from donations by Kenneth J. and Barbara Starks and additional donors. Made annually, it consists of a plaque and a research grant, the amount of which is based on the earnings from the investment. The recipient is presented with the award at the ESA Annual Meeting.

Eligibility

The grant is awarded to a graduate student in entomology or plant breeding/genetics for innovative research that contributes significantly to knowledge of plant resistance to insects. This grant, which may be renewed, may be used for salaries, equipment, supplies, or travel to initiate, accelerate, augment, or expand a research project. The applicant must be a U.S. citizen and a candidate for a Master's or doctoral degree at an accredited university. The recipient is encouraged to present the research results at an ESA meeting and is required to acknowledge the grant in publications resulting from these funds.

Previous Winners

Please click here to see a list of those who have previously received this award.

Electronic Submission Requirements

All nomination packages must be submitted electronically according to the following specifications (paper nominations will not be accepted):

Page Limits

• The entire nomination package must not exceed 20 pages total. This includes letters of nomination or recommendation and publication lists.

• Letters of nomination and recommendation must be included in the electronic package. Printed letters sent in lieu of electronic versions will not be accepted.

File Specifications

• Only the following file formats will be accepted: PDF (Adobe Portable Document Format), RTF (Rich Text Format), TIF graphic files, or JPG graphic files. Files created on either PC or MAC platforms will be accepted. Please make sure scanned images can be clearly read on a computer screen.

• Font size for text may not be smaller than 10 point.

• A nomination package may contain no more than 6 separate files, and the size of each file must not exceed 3 MB.

Submission Methods

Nomination packages may be submitted by either of two methods:

• PREFERRED METHOD: Submit online via the Nomination Submission Website. This method eliminates problems associated with e-mailing large files. Nominators are strongly encouraged to use this method.
  OR

• E-mail the nomination package as attached files to the awards administrator. In the submission e-mail, please include the title of the award in the subject of the e-mail. In the body of the e-mail, provide the name of the nominee, the nominator's contact information, and a list of the attached files.

Nomination Requirements

Nominations may be made by anyone. Nomination packages for this award must include:

CV-Related Items

Nominators must provide the information called for in the CV template, either in the template's format or in their own format. To view the CV-related nomination requirements for this award, as well as the CV template, please click here.

Other Items

§         Letter of nomination

§         Title, duration, and background information concerning the significance of the proposed research to the field of plant resistance to insects (one-page)

§         Materials and budget (one-page)

§         Up to three letters of recommendation

Evaluation Criteria

Nominees/candidates will be judged using the following criteria for a total of 80 points:

1. Candidate (40 points total)
   1. Honors, awards, achievements and recognition (10)
   2. Recommendation from professors, advisors, etc. (10)
   3. Grantsmanship (10)
   4. Publications (10)
2. Proposed Research (40 points total)

1. Feasibility (10)
2. Contribution (10)
3. Creativity and innovation (10)
4. National impact (10)

Deadline

Application/nomination packages must be received by the awards administrator by July 1. This deadline refers to receipt of a complete package in a readable format. Therefore, early submission is highly recommended. The awards administrator will confirm receipt of nomination packages within two business days, and also notify nominators of any problems with nomination package files within that time.

Renomination

Any candidate nominated, but not selected, may be renominated no more than two times within the two-year period after his/her initial submission. Renomination packages will be retained for two years by the awards administrator. Nominators must send a letter of renomination to the awards administrator by the award deadline above. Previously submitted documentation will be used for the evaluation process unless the nominator submits new or updated documents. The renomination e-mail must contain this additional documentation. New or updated documents must follow the electronic submission requirements noted above.

Notification

The awards administrator will notify all candidates and their nominators, where applicable, with the results of their application approximately two months after the application/nomination submission deadline.

For questions about this award, please click here.