Morrison Travel Award for Graduate Students in Plant Science (approximate value $1400)

Dr. Ian N. Morrison joined the Department of Plant Science at the University of Manitoba in 1976 as a weed scientist and later served as Head from 1989 to 1996.  His research led to the development of new tools and methods for weed control and crop protection for western Canadian producers.  Dr. Morrison moved to the University of Alberta in 1996 to become Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics.  He touched the lives of over 20 graduate students and hundreds of undergraduate students. 

Helgason Travel Award for Graduate Students in Plant Science (approximate value $1325)

Dr. Helgason joined the Department of Plant Science in 1947 as a plant breeder, serving as Head from 1975 to 1978, when he retired.  He was named Professor Emeritus in 1980 and maintained an ongoing involvement in his research programme, graduate student committees, and departmental affairs until 1984.  His outstanding career accomplishments include the development of corn inbreds and hybrids and the release of several barley varieties, including the six-row malting variety, Argyle.

Lamari Travel Award for Graduate Studies in Plant Science (approximate value $1550)

Dr. Lakhdar Lamari joined the Department of Plant Science in 1988 as a Post-Doctoral Fellow conducting cereal pathology research.  He subsequently joined the Department as a professor of plant pathology in 1990.  He conducted world-class and world-renown cereal pathology research with special emphasis on tan spot diseases of wheat.  He was the first researcher in the world to unravel the mysterious host-pathogen interaction for this disease in wheat.  He developed a computer-based plant disease measurement program called “Assess” that permits the easy and rapid quantification of the number of disease lesions on plant surfaces.  This program took plant pathology research to a whole new level of precision.

These awards will be offered to graduate students who:

(1) have completed the first year of their M.Sc. or Ph.D. program in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at The University of Manitoba;

(2) have achieved a minimum degree grade point average of 3.0 (or equivalent) based on the last 60 credit hours;

(3) will be attending a scientific meeting in a plant science related area and will be presenting the results of their research at the meeting (poster or oral presentation);

(4) have demonstrated research ability based on the abstract submitted and the proposed research results to be presented at the meeting.

The application form (one for all three awards) is attached.  Funding must be used within the 12 month period following the date that the award recipients are announced.  Recipients graduating within the 12 month period following the date of the award offer must use the funding no later than six months from the date of convocation.

Recipients may not hold more than one of the Morrison Travel Award, the Lamari Travel Award, or the Helgason Travel Award in the same calendar year.

Selection of the recipients will be based on: 1) academic performance; 2) comments from letters of recommendation; 3) the quality of the abstract submitted and of the proposed research results to be presented; 4) the potential value of the meeting to the student’s development.

DEADLINE: January 16, 2015