Department of Chemistry

Travel Awards

The department's travel awards, listed below, provide funds that are awarded on a competitive basis for the purpose of supporting graduate student travel to scientific meetings or other appropriate scholarly activities. Travel opportunities are essential for the scientific growth and development of students.

The A.E. Martell Graduate Student Enrichment Fund, an endowment established in 1980 in honor of Dr. Arthur E. Martell on the occasion of his retirement from Texas A&M University, provides funds to be used for travel awards for students pursuing a graduate degree in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M.

The Martin Donald Corera Memorial Endowed Fund was established in 1989 in memory of Martin Donald Corera. Funds are used to support travel for full-time students in good standing pursuing a graduate degree in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M. This award is for Spring travel and must be applied for by October 1.

The F.A. Cotton Endowed Memorial Graduate Travel Award, established in 2007 in the memory of Professor F.A. Cotton, provides funds to be used for travel awards for students pursuing a graduate degree in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M.

The Marcetta Y. and Donald J. Darensbourg Graduate Student Travel Scholarship in Chemistry was established in 2013 by Dawn C. '96 and David A. '88 Mason, in honor of Drs. Marcetta and Donald Darensbourg, to provide one or more travel scholarship to full-time students in good standing pursuing a graduate degree in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M.

The Eastman Chemical Company Endowment for Graduate Teaching and Travel Awards was established in 2015 to provide travel awards for full-time graduate students in good standing pursuing a graduate degree from the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M.

Guidelines

Travel funds are awarded twice each year. Deadlines are as follows:

Spring-semester travel awards: due by the first Friday in October

Summer- and Fall-semester travel award applications: due the first Friday in March

Students applying for these awards must be enrolled in the Department of Chemistry Graduate Program. Awards are based on the following criteria:

  1. The meeting's ability to enhance the graduate student experience. This will include issues such as the size of the meeting, the extent to which students will be in contact with other students, faculty, industry representatives, and so forth.
  2. Extent of participation in the meeting (poster, oral presentation, etc.). Extent of matching funds from the meeting organizers, research advisor, or other sources.
  3. Evidence of previous participation at local (TAMU and the surrounding areas) meetings and related activities (Friday noon seminar presentations, ACS regional meetings in Texas, etc.).
  4. Number of previous departmental travel grants awarded (priority may be given to first- time applicants).
  5. Evidence of scientific productivity: Students receiving travel awards may be expected to have already published at least one paper at TAMU, and/or passed their preliminary exam by the application deadline.

To apply for a travel award, please complete a Travel Award Application