This award will provide funding from the Petrology and Geochemistry Program to partially sponsor the travel of 20 US graduate students to participate at the General Assembly of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) that is planned for August 18 - 25, 2008 in Iceland. These volcanology students will participate in this international conference and also in complimentary field trips and workshops in Reykjavik, Iceland.
IAVCEI General Assembly Meetings take place only once every four years and are the main venue for establishing successful international scientific cooperation in the field of Volcanology worldwide. In the past, the attendance of US graduate students at this particular conference led to a number of international collaborations and generated many integrated research ideas. Because the cost involved in the attendance of a meeting in Iceland is rather high, attendance of US graduate students would be significantly hindered without some financial support. It is expected that funding for this award will promote the participation of these early career scientists and allow them to engage in an international experience that also includes bonding with future colleagues from other countries.