AGeS: Awards for Geochronology Student Research

AGeS2 Program

Awards for Geochronology Student Research2

About AGeS2

Now accepting 2021 applications.

Deadline: 1 February 2021, 5 p.m. MST (Supervisor and Lab Letter deadline is 8 February 2021, 11:59 p.m. MST)

Eligibility: Students currently enrolled in a research-focused graduate degree program at an accredited college or university in the United States or its territories (GSA student membership is required)

Typical amount of award: ~$8,300 (maximum of $10,000)

Estimated number of awards: 18–20 per year in 2019, 2020, 2021

AGeS geochronology labs: Any lab in the United States or its territories can participate. View the list of AGeS labs.

View the slides  from a presentation at the 2019 GSA Annual Meeting

Read about the AGeS program in a GSA Today Groundwork article.

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

Program Overview

The AGeS program is a collaborative strategy for supporting community access to geochronology data and expertise. AGeS2 is supported by a 3-year, cross-programmatic award from NSF that 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 Annual Meeting, and will be encouraged to present their results at the meeting.

Types of Projects Supported by AGeS2

AGeS2 project study areas may be sited anywhere worldwide. 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.

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).

AGeS awardee Victor Guevara (VA Tech) collecting samples for his U-Pb TIMS geochronology project.

AGeS awardee Victor Guevara (Virginia Tech) collecting samples for his U-Pb TIMS geochronology project.