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Travel Grant Program for Attendees from US Institutions

The purpose of the ICNP Travel Grant Program is to encourage PhD student participation in the conference by partially funding the travel costs of PhD students who would otherwise be unable to attend. Depending on fund availability, postdoctoral researchers and faculty members from underrepresented groups that are employed in US institutions will also be considered for travel support.

The program is made possible by a grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF). Note that awardees will need to pay for their expenses ahead of time and get reimbursed after the conference. Only US-based PhD students, postdocs and underrepresented faculty members are eligible for travel support using the US NSF funds.

In selecting students (or postdocs) for travel support, preference will be given to PhD students who satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

• Students presenting a poster, or a demo, or participating in the PhD Forum.
• Student authors of papers submitted but not included in the program.
• Student co-authors of accepted papers and posters who are not giving the presentation at the conference.
• Students in early stages of their PhD studies without alternate means of support.

Applicants are expected to show evidence of a serious interest in networking, as demonstrated by coursework and project experience. ICNP particularly encourages the participation of women and members of underrepresented minorities.

Application Process

An application for a travel award should include a cover letter, which gives a brief summary of research interests and accomplishments and describes the applicant's reason for wanting to attend ICNP, and mention qualification under the above preference criteria.

In addition, for a student (or postdoc) application the following is required:

• The student's vita, containing basic information such as degrees earned, current affiliations, relevant coursework and grades, and any other information the student feels is relevant to support their application. Students should demonstrate a serious interest in the subject matters of the conference, as evidenced by recent coursework and projects.
• A supporting letter from the student's advisor. This should be only as long as necessary to convey the relevant information. It should confirm that the student is a PhD candidate in good standing, describe the research area of the student, and briefly comment on the strengths and potential contributions of the student. Furthermore, the letter should indicate how the student would benefit from attending ICNP, the suitability of ICNP's technical program to the student's research area, and why the student is in need of a travel grant. If the applicant is a co-author on an accepted paper, the student advisor's letter must specify whether other co-authors will be attending the conference and presenting the work.

NOTE: The student's cover letter, vita, and any other relevant information must be included in *one PDF file*.

Apart from the cover letter, an application from a faculty member from an underrepresented group should also include a vita.

How to Apply?

The application for a travel grant has two steps that can be completed in any order by the corresponding deadlines:

• The applicant should send his/her application material to icnp-2017-travel-grants@googlegroups.com
• In the case of a student or postdoc, the advisor should send the recommendation letter to icnp-2017-travel-grants@googlegroups.com . The subject of the email should be “Recommendation for XX”, where XX stands for the corresponding applicant’s full name.

Important Dates

Submission deadline: September 16, 2017
Advisor recommendation: September 18, 2017
Notification of acceptance: September 25, 2017

Travel Grant Requirements

Funds can only be used toward registration, travel, and lodging at the conference hotel. In order to support as many students as possible, the amounts awarded will defray, but may not necessarily cover all costs. Students are strongly encouraged to secure additional funding from other sources. Funds will be disbursed only in the form of reimbursements for actual expenses. A receipt is required for any expense reimbursed (e.g., airfare and hotel receipts).

NOTE: Students supported with NSF-provided funds MUST fly on a US carrier. We will let each awardee know if they will be supported by NSF funds.

The reimbursement will be sent as a check via snail mail six to eight weeks after receipt of reimbursement forms. Details will be communicated to award recipients.

Important Notes about Reimbursement

For reimbursement, the student must submit the following information:

• Original receipts for travel, lodging, and conference registration. For travel receipts, please include boarding passes and/or receipts for train/cabs. For lodging, please include a receipt from the hotel in addition to the online hotel reservation.
• If you are a US citizen, a completed W-9 form.
• If you are in the US on a F-1/J-1 visa, a completed W-8 form.
• A sheet that lists all the expenses.

An application for this travel grant is an implicit acceptance of these terms.

Travel Grants Committee

Debbie Perouli, Marquette University, Wisconsin, USA
Henry Xu, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China