Travel Awards for

Students and Postdoctoral Researchers

Program Guidelines

A. Purpose

A goal of the ACS committee on Chemists with Disabilities (CWD) is to encourage individuals with disabilities to pursue careers in chemistry and allied fields. One tool in reaching this goal is the committee’s Travel Award program that assists in making it possible for individuals with disabilities to attend scientific meetings. The specific goals of the award program are to:

encourage undergraduate students with disabilities to pursue careers in chemistry or an allied field.
provide motivated students with opportunities to network and build lasting professional relationships.
encourage established members of the chemistry community to mentor students with disabilities in pursuing career options in their chosen field of study.
demonstrate to the chemistry community at large that individuals with disabilities can and do have productive careers in chemistry and allied fields.

Often individuals with disabilities incur “additional” travel and lodging expenses, both hidden and direct, when attending scientific meetings. These “additional costs” can range from taxi fare for those for whom public transit is impractical or unsafe to the cost of a personal assistant for a quadriplegic. In many cases the “additional” expenses make it financially prohibitive for the disabled to attend meetings to network and/or present their work. The CWD travel program is intended to defray some or all of this “additional” cost and give disabled presenters a level playing field when raising travel funds. Awards are not intended to cover ADA compliant needs and services since these are the responsibility of meeting organizers.

B. Eligibility

To be eligible for a Travel Award the candidate must:

be an undergraduate/graduate student, or postdoctoral researcher.
have a documented disability.
be an ACS member or student affiliate.
submit a complete application on or before the application deadline.
be willing to provide follow-up information about the conference attended.

C. Application Materials

A completed application package must be received prior to the application deadline. This package must include the following documentation.

1. A resume with permanent address.

2. A completed application.

3. An abstract, on the official meeting abstract form, of the research to be presented. If the abstract is not on the official form, an explanation must be given.

4. A letter of introduction discussing the:

a. impact of the disability on his/her education/career.

b. impact of the presentation/attendance on future education/career options.

c. additional costs associated with travel and lodging.

5. A letter of reference from his/her advisor or director. If requesting travel assistance to give a presentation, the letter should address the extent of the student’s involvement in the work to be presented .

D. Review and Selection

Although applications are also accepted from individuals wishing only to attend a scientific meeting, preference will be given to applicants presenting their research. For applications of substantially equal merit, preference will be given to candidates who:

will experience the greatest impact on their careers resulting from their presentations.
are presenting for the first time.
are presenting earlier in their academic career.
are presenting at national meetings.
are presenting at ACS sponsored meetings.
are presenting to an audience rather than giving a poster session.

Recipients of Travel Awards will be notified within 30 days of the application deadline.

Travel Grant Application