Underrepresented Minority Communities in Planetary Science Travel Grant Form
The makeup of the planetary science community does not reflect the full diversity of the United States, and in particular Black/African American, Indigenous, and Latinx communities are heavily underrepresented relative to the US labor force population (Rivera-Valentìn et al., 2020). Therefore, the DPS is offering funds to encourage and support participation of students, scientists, and other space professionals who are members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. In partnership with the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP), awards are available for members of Black/African American, Indigenous, and/or Latinx communities to support attendance at the annual DPS meeting and/or the annual NSBP meeting. The fund is intended to support some travel (when meetings are in person and not virtual) and meeting registration fees, and applicants may also request coverage for society membership fees.
Funds will be awarded in consultation with the DPS PCCS and NSBP. Since the DPS and NSBP have varied registration and membership fees depending on membership category, and since travel expenses vary from person to person, we ask applicants to summarize their funding requests. Since this program is intended to broaden participation in planetary science, those newer to the planetary science community will be given preference. Past awardees may receive awards in subsequent years. Participants in the DPS meeting are not required to submit an abstract to be eligible, do not need to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and may apply to the Hartmann travel fund as well.
The Underrepresented Minority Communities in Planetary Science Travel Grant is open from June 1, 2023 to August 7, 2023.
Access the application form at content/underrepresented-minority-communities-planetary-science-travel-grant-form
Hartmann Travel Grant
A generous contribution from William K. Hartmann, supplemented by member contributions and matching funds from the DPS Committee, has enabled a limited number of student grants to assist participation by early-career scientists at the annual DPS meeting.
** Application details are at meetings/hartmann_travel_grant
Grants are primarily intended for students, but post-doctoral scientists without other means of support will also be considered. Note that Hartmann travel grants are restricted to early-career scientists from non-European institutions this year. Scientists from European institutions should apply for travel funds from the Europlanet Society (deadline is August 4, 2023): https://www.europlanet-society.org/dps-epsc-joint-meeting-2023-bursary-application-form/
The due date for applications is August 7th, 2023 11:59 PM, PT.
The DPS Leadership is also soliciting additional contributions from members for the Hartmann Fund. Your tax-deductible gift promotes the careers of our next generation of planetary scientists. Thanks so much for your generosity. Donations may be given through AAS.org.
NOTE: We understand that unforeseen circumstances may lead to additional costs outside of your control. While we would endeavor to assist any grant recipients with unexpected costs, we cannot guarantee that additional funds would be available beyond the initial grant allocation. If the majority of your trip is funded through a DPS travel grant, we encourage you to investigate travel insurance, which for instance can be available through your credit card or home institution.
DPS Dependent Care Grants
In 2011, the DPS began a pilot program to help parents of small children attend the DPS meeting. After surveying the DPS membership (see 2011 Childcare Survey spreadsheet), it was clear that the economic burden of child, elder, and disabled dependent care affects a small fraction of our membership, but the impact is so great that it can often prevent attendance at meetings, especially for early career scientists or those with limited funding. Therefore, members may apply to subsidize dependent care services during the DPS conference week, for use either at the DPS meeting location or at home.
Dependent care expenses needed to allow participation in DPS Annual Meetings in any format (virtual or in-person) are allowed. All expenses should be justified with a receipt to claim the award. Full, associate, or junior DPS or AAS membership at the time of award selection is required.
The DPS Susan Niebur Professional Development Fund provides financial assistance to qualifying members in order to facilitate their meeting attendance by offsetting dependent care costs at the meeting location or at home during the DPS conference week. Online applications are solicited no later than 1 month prior to the DPS meeting:
The 2023 application is now open and will close on August 7, 2023.
For questions, please contact the DPS Professional Development subcommittee.