The PLANTS program (funded by the NSF and Botanical Society of
America, www.botany.org) encourages the participation of
undergraduates from underrepresented groups at the annual meetings of
the BSA and affiliated organizations (this year in New Orleans,
Louisiana, July 27-31, 2013). These meetings focus on the plant
sciences and include areas such as ecology, conservation,
systematics, paleobotany, physiology and ethnobotany. The PLANTS
program will fund up to 12 undergraduates annually to participate in
the meetings and to receive mentoring from both junior (advanced
undergraduate and graduate students) and senior mentors (postdocs,
faculty, and other professionals) in the plant sciences.
Applicants will be asked to provide a one page statement of academic
interests and career goals and relevance of the BSA meetings to these
goals, and one letter of recommendation. The letter of reference
should indicate the students level of interest in the plant sciences
and how inclusion of the student will increase diversity of the
PLANTS participants. Applications will be accepted Feb 1-Mar 15, 2013
and are available at www.botany.org/awards_grants/detail/PLANTS.php
Applicants must be undergraduates who are US citizens or permanent
residents and who are registered or recently graduated (i.e., within
the last 12 months) from U.S. institutions, including Puerto Rico,
and traveling to the meeting from within the U.S. Students
demonstrating a need for funds to attend BSA will be given
preference, and will be selected so that the group as a whole will
maximize diversity among undergraduates at the meetings.
More information is available from Ann Sakai ([email protected]), Ann
Hirsch ([email protected]), or Heather Cacanindin
([email protected]).
