This is a request to support travel and participation by 18 graduate students and early career scientists in the International Medical Geology Association (IMGA) biennial international conference, MEDGEO 2013 (Conference) in Arlington VA, during August 25-29, 2013. The Conference theme is "The Natural Environment and Health: Hidden Dangers, Unlimited Opportunities." This conference is an international, biennial gathering of geoscientists and health professionals and their students held to share information on advances in medical geology. The specialized field of the Conference, medical geology, is multi-disciplinary, applying geoscience principles to solve global public health problems.
The students supported will be presenting a research paper at the conference. The conference represents a unique opportunity for students? networking among themselves and with established professionals.
(NSF 1342075) TRAVEL SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS TO ATTEND MEDGEO 2013 ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, August 25-29, 2013 Respectfully submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI): Dr. Alan Martin Jacobs Awarded to: Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio. National Science Foundation Program Officer: Dr. Enriqueta Barrera From August 25 to 29, 2013, an international conference, MEDGEO 2013, was held in Arlington, Virginia, bringing together approximately 300 scientists and students (in geoscience, environmental science, and biomedical/public health) from around the world. They attended technical sessions, plenary sessions, keynote addresses, short courses, field trips, and social events, to network with others in their discipline and in allied disciplines, encompassing a growing field called medical geology. A special feature of the conference was the availability of student travel grants providing partial support to attend MEDGEO 2013. Students had the opportunity to present their research results and to "rub shoulders" with experienced professionals in medical geology. Dr. Alan Jacobs, a member of the Executive Committee of MEDGEO 2013, and professor of geology and environmental science at Youngstown State University (Ohio), applied to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund some of the student travel awards for MEDGEO 2013, and was awarded $18,000 (approximately $1,000 each for 18 graduate and post-doctoral students). The winning students had to have their submitted abstracts accepted by a conference review committee, had to be the first author and presenter, had to be in full-time attendance at a U.S. university, and had to state their need for travel funds. Eighteen NSF funded travel stipends were awarded for a total of $17,983.47. Students represented 8 U.S. universities, presenting their research on such topics as water quality on native American reservations, contamination of urban soils, the use of natural clay and other minerals as antibacterial media, and lung damage in U.S. soldiers returning from the Middle East who were exposed to inhaled metallic dust. The outcome of this grant not only allowed students to learn from professional conference presenters, but as seen from the presentation of student research, educated the professionals in return.
