Eastern Branch Awards

Eastern Branch John Henry Comstock Award

Eastern Branch Distinguished Achievement in Teaching and Eastern Branch Distinguished Achievement in Extension

Eastern Branch John Henry Comstock Award - The John Henry Comstock Graduate Student award is sponsored by the ESA and is given to an outstanding graduate (usually Ph. D. level) student from each branch of the ESA. The award consists of an all-expense-paid trip to the ESA national meeting (ESA registers and accommodates the awardee, reimburses the travel and limited per diem expenses), $100 in cash, and a certificate. In addition, the award winner will be recognized and asked to give a 25-minute research presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Branch, ESA.

The Representatives of the Student Affairs Committee select recipients of both awards. Selection is based on three broad criteria: 1) scientific quality of research, 2) publications and presentations, and 3) involvement in professional activities. Candidates are to be judged on the merits of their
achievements while conducting graduate studies. The judging committee will not consider accomplishments attained prior to graduate study or between graduate level degrees. Note: ESA Headquarters should receive notification of the John Henry Comstock Graduate Student awardees’ name, short biography and photo from the Eastern Branch by August 15 (see http://www.entsoc.org/awards/student/comstock). Information on other ESA professional and student awards can be found at: http://www.entsoc.org/awards/whats_available.

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Eligibility Requirements -

1. The student must be a member of the ESA.
2. The student must be pursuing or has recently completed a graduate degree in entomology.
3. The student did not graduate more than one year prior to the award deadline (deadline is usually in early to mid-November prior to meeting).
4. An active member returning for graduate study is eligible if membership status has changed from full member to student member within two years of resuming study.

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Protocol for Soliciting Nominations -

 

1. Any member of the EB-ESA may nominate a graduate student in entomology for an award. Selfnominations are discouraged. Any self-nomination needs approval from a departmental student awards committee or department head.
2. There will be a limit of two qualified nominees from each university. If there are more than two interested applicants from the same university, the two selected applicants will be chosen by the student’s residing departmental student awards committee or department head.
3. Every eligible student should be given the opportunity to apply for the awards and should know whom to contact within his or her department for nomination materials and procedures. This could be done by way of posted notices, and/or announcements during seminars.
4. If a nomination committee is formed within a department, students should be allowed to approach the committee and ask for consideration for the award. If a nomination comes as a result of committee action, this should be mentioned in one of the recommendation letters or as part of the nominee’s cover letter if desired. Back to top

Award Selection Procedures -
1. Nomination instruction packet file is available at any time from the Chair of the Student Affairs Committee, Eastern Branch, ESA.
2. Nomination instruction file is sent to Entomology Departments in the Eastern Branch, usually in care of the departmental representative to the Student Affairs Committee (SAC), EB-ESA.
3. Completed nomination packet files are submitted electronically to the chair of the SAC, postmarked by the deadline. Incomplete packets will be returned to the sender, and if not resubmitted in a complete format by the deadline, they will be dropped from consideration.
4. Nomination packet files are then sent electronically to each SAC member for evaluation.
5. Award nominations are evaluated based on three broad criteria:
1) scientific quality of research work, 2) publications and presentations, and 3) involvement in professional activities.
Candidates for both awards are to be judged on the merits of their achievements while conducting graduate studies. The judging committee will not consider accomplishments attained prior to graduate study or between graduate level
degrees.
6. The committee reserves the right to reject nominees which are ineligible, unqualified, or which have improperly submitted the nomination packet. The committee will only consider those nominees appointed by their department’s award selection committee; additional applications from that school will be rejected.
7. Each SAC committee member will submit to the chair, in rank order, the evaluation of all nominees.
Guidelines for evaluation are:
A. Rank all nominees for an award: (first = 1, second = 2, third = 3, etc…). If a committee member feels that no candidate is qualified, then a rank of “no award” is given.
B. After all evaluations are submitted to the chair, the nominee receiving the lowest cumulative ranking will be declared the recipient of the award.
C. In the event of a tie, those nominations involved in the tie will be re-submitted to the committee for re-evaluation and re-ranking.
D. In the event of a 2nd tie, the chair will determine the winner.
E. If a committee representative is nominated for one of the awards, he/she shall select another student in his/her department to rank the nominations.

8. Each awardee will be informed of the results as soon as possible after the rankings have been submitted.
9. The SAC Chair will submit to the Eastern Branch officers the names and addresses of each recipient. A copy of each awardee’s nomination packet including biography and photograph will be submitted along with this letter.
10. The SAC Chair will submit the biography and picture of the winner of the John H. Comstock Award to the Entomological Society of America Awards Committee prior to August. 

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Application Procedures -

I. Cover letter (1 page maximum)
Written by the nominee expressing why he/she is qualified for the award. The nominee may wish to call the committee’s attention to particular sections of the supporting documents II. Curriculum vitae or resume including each of the following in the order specified:
A. Personal information:
- Name, present position, address, phone number
B. Education:
- Beginning with undergraduate institution, list the date, degree, institution, thesis title, advisor’s name, and GPA (based on a 0-4 scale) of all institutions attended
- Include official transcripts of graduate records only. Student copies of official transcripts permitted.
C. Employment:
- List relevant jobs/positions held during graduate studies and a brief summary of responsibilities.
D. Publications:
- List all publications in chronological order. If not senior author, the nominee must describe his/her contribution to the work.
1. Refereed Publications:
Nominee should place an asterisk by the one publication in which he/she considers to be his/her greatest contribution to entomology. Include a photocopy of the abstract of this publication in the packet.
2. Non-Refereed Publications:
Do not include published abstracts of presentations.
3. In Press:
Only include those publications that have actually been accepted by a journal. Please include a photocopy of the acceptance letter.
E. Presentations:
- Include title and type of presentation. If not senior author, the nominee must describe his/her contribution to the work.
F. Research Support:
- List all grant proposals, cooperative agreements, and competitive fellowships funded. Include agency, amount, and duration of support.
G. Thesis or Dissertation Research:
- Include title and abstract (2 page maximum).
H. Non-thesis Research and Extension Experience:
- Include any additional research or extension experience not indicated by publications or presentations.  Back to top

Submit a nomination for the Eastern Branch

Eastern Branch Distinguished Achievement in Teaching and Eastern Branch Distinguished Achievement in Extension

The Eastern Branch Screening Committee for Entomological Society of America Awards accepts nominations from Branch members of entomologists to be honored for National-level awards for outstanding contributions in the areas of entomology teaching and extension.

The top nominee for each category selected by the Committee is recognized at the Eastern Branch meeting; nomination packages are then forwarded to the National office to be considered for the Society–level awards given at the Entomological Society of America’s Annual Meeting. 

The Screening Committee for ESA Awards is charged with promoting participation in the awards process, including soliciting names and selecting top candidates to forward to the National office for each award category. The committee asks for member assistance in this regard. The Eastern Branch membership has many outstanding scientists who are well qualified for these awards and member nominations will help to recognize them for their contributions and achievements. Nominations for the two DAA awards must be made through the Eastern Branch.

Nomination documentation MUST be prepared according to the respective formats in the ESA webpage on Awards, Honors, Grants, and Scholarships. This information can be obtained from the ESA website: http://www.entsoc.org/awards/whats_available

Specific information on each award and submission requirements can be found at:
Extension: http://www.entsoc.org/awards/professional/extension
Teaching: http://www.entsoc.org/awards/professional/teaching

The entire nomination packet MUST be in electronic format, preferably as a PDF file, and submitted through the website. 

Please contact the Eastern Branch Screening Committee for ESA Awards for specific questions regarding the nomination/selection procedure for these awards in our branch. The electronic version (PDF) of the nomination is typically due to the Committee Chair by early November; nomination packages for selected nominees are due at ESA Headquarters by July 1 to be considered for the next ESA Annual Meeting.  Back to top

Submit a nomination for the Eastern Branch