Applications are currently being accepted for the 2020-2021 “COVID-modified” Kuczaj Memorial Travel Grant, which is given to students attending the Conference on Comparative Cognition. The grant is administered in memory of Dr. Stan Kuczaj, who was a leader in the study of comparative animal cognition, particularly within marine mammals. Stan believed in pursuing challenging topics in human and animal cognition with rigor, candor, and the spirit of intellectual adventure. The Kuczaj Memorial Travel Grant is administered with the goal of preserving and promoting Stan’s interests and beliefs in scientific pursuit.

To accommodate the virtual format of the 2021 CO3 conference, the travel grants for this year will be research support grants. The grants will be for graduate students who are currently in the process of conducting their thesis research and are in need of financial support to meet their research objectives.

Applicants for the 2020-2021 COVID-modified Kuczaj Memorial Travel Grant must: 1) be enrolled in a graduate program at the time of the application, 2) have their abstract accepted for presentation at the Conference on Comparative Cognition, 3) submit their long abstract with additional information indicating the project that would be supported by the grant for evaluation and ranking, and 4) provide evidence of graduate enrollment. The Kuczaj Memorial Travel Grant is determined through a competitive ranking process based upon the quality of the abstracts submitted.

For the current application cycle, grants are for $500 in research support to be applied toward a current or proposed project. Two grants will be awarded and grantees will be selected and notified of the award by March 15, 2021. Applications must be submitted to Dr. Heather Hill (hhill1@stmarytx.edu) no later than February 28, 2021.