Planetary Science Students Eligible

I’ve written several times about the Uwingu group and their ongoing efforts to raise funds for science research and outreach. Their most recent project, naming craters on a Mars map has been quite successful, enabling the awarding of grants to several groups. Today, the Uwingu fund announced that it is soliciting applications from PhD student planetary science candidates to fund travel to present their research at professional meetings. Doing such presentations is an important part of a scientist’s training; he or she must be able to share his or her work with peers and gain the necessary feedback that improves their work. According to Dr. Alan Stern, the CEO of Uwingu, giving these grants for travel to professional meetings is an important part of the group’s efforts in fostering the next generation of scientists.  “We are excited to begin making grants to students and to supporting their research, and look forward to selecting the best applications we receive for funding,” he said. “We expect to make more and more grant solicitations as revenues from our Mars Map Crater Naming Project continue to grow.”

I remember when I presented my first paper at a professional meeting. It was an important part of my scientific upbringing, which made it doubly stressful. Luckily, at the time, I did have some travel funds from our group’s research grants, so I didn’t have to worry about paying for such travel out of a meager student paycheck. It was a rite of passage in a way, and an important one. So, I can easily understand and support the idea of Uwingu using some of the money from its Mars mapping fundraiser to help support other students who need the same help I did to get up there and explain their research.

If you’re interested in supporting the Uwingu fund, surf on over and pick out a crater or two or three to name. You can spend as little as $5.00 to name a crater on a map that the Mars One crew will use. In return a student somewhere will get some of his or her travel expenses paid to give that all-important research presentation at a meeting. It’s win-win all the way around.

If you’re one of those PhD planetary science students looking for help to get to a meeting, head on over to the Uwingu travel application page and put in your request. The deadline is April 30, 2014.