Program Overview
The AGeS2 (Awards for Geochronology Student research 2) program is supported by a 3-year, cross-programmatic
award from NSF that expands the AGeS1 program into a wider initiative. AGeS offers opportunities for
graduate students
to
develop the scientific rationale for projects involving geochronology, and then provides them with hands-on
experience acquiring data in labs, all while being mentored by geochronologists. AGeS awardees visit an
AGeS lab
for a week or more, participate in sample preparation and analysis, and learn fundamental aspects of the
methods,
techniques, and theory used in modern analytical facilities. Awards can be used to fund analytical costs,
sample
preparation, travel to the host geochronology lab, lodging, and other expenses. The $6-10k AGeS awards fill
an
important funding gap between small ($1-3k) student research grant opportunities and large (>$100k)
grants.
However, these moderate funding amounts are sufficient to acquire a publishable dataset, provide the
foundation for
future larger proposals, and/or finance “riskier” science ideas.
AGeS2 awardees will participate in teleconferences with the cohort of funded AGeS students over a two-year
interval.
Each awardee will also receive an additional $500 to attend an AGeS cohort workshop preceding the 2020 or
2021 GSA
National Meeting, and will be encouraged to present their results at the meeting.
Types of projects supported by AGeS2
Unlike AGeS1 projects, AGeS2 projects are not restricted to
North American locations. AGeS2 supports projects that fall under the scope of the broader science
supported by the
Division of Earth Sciences of the
National Science Foundation, which is aimed at "... improving the
understanding of
the structure, composition, and evolution of the Earth, the life it supports, and the processes that govern
the
formation and behavior of the Earth's materials."
Funding
Funded grants must be completely expensed within one year of the award.
Goals of AGeS2
- Broaden access to geochronology data
- Educate users of geochronology data
- Promote synergistic science by fostering new relationships between labs and other disciplines
- Provide strategic, high-quality, scientifically-valuable geochronology data for projects in which both
users and
producers of the data are intellectually engaged
Thanks to NSF for supporting AGeS
AGeS2 is supported by NSF EAR-1759200, -1759353, -1759201 awards to R.M. Flowers (CU-Boulder), J.R.
Arrowsmith (ASU),
and V. McConnell (GSA).