The grant is for partial funding for the student travel, attendance and paper competition at the MTS/IEEE OCEANS 2006 conference. Emphasis will be on exposure of talented students and their work to the wide range of government and industry participants at the conference. The OCEANS MTS/IEEE Conference and Exhibition series is held in the fall of each year. When held in North America, the conference is co sponsored by the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society (OES) and the Marine Technology Society (MTS). OCEANS 2006 MTS/IEEE will be held in Boston, Massachusetts from September 18-22, 2006. The theme for the conference is "Revolutionizing Marine Science and Technology." The Conference Technical Program offers five days of presentations and posters on Ocean Sciences, Oceanic Engineering and Marine Technology topics. This conference offers a highly talented group of students to meet other students, scientists and industry professionals in their field, discuss their research and learn more about the critical needs, challenges and recent advances in ocean science and engineering. The educational experience for students early in their career is valuable and rewarding. Each year the OCEANS Conference and Exhibition promotes student education through its annual Student Paper Competition. This program is open to any full time undergraduate or graduate student in engineering and sciences at an accredited university. This year high school students will be accepted, although their abstracts will be judged in direct competition with the other submissions. This program has a strong impact on a diverse body of students (male and female, undergraduate and graduate) from across the country. This is a unique opportunity for student education and exposure to job opportunities in the areas of ocean sciences and engineering. Many of the leading employers and vendors in related fields will be present during this event. Significant efforts will be made to recruit advanced K-12 students to the program.
