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Supplemental Travel Grants

The DDA will provide a limited amount of travel support to defray the costs of attending the meetings for a small number of attendees. This support is aimed at DDA members who do not have sufficient financial resources to attend the meeting and would not be able to attend without travel support. The DDA values the diverse experiences of the DDA membership, and is committed to equity in its selection process for the allocation of the travel support. 

The selection process will be completed using a rubric with the following categories: financial resources, relevance to DDA, limited funding from host institution, previous conference exposure, and the impact to the applicant of attending the meeting. Below, where we ask for each component of the application, we will also describe how each application component will be assessed. After each individual application has been scored using the rubric, the applications will be split into two categories: small requests (less than $500) and large requests ($500 or greater). In each category, money will be awarded in order from the application that received the highest score according to the rubric to the lowest score as long as money is available. The total amount available in each category is not yet decided, but we expect to be able to fund a larger number of smaller requests. 

For the purposes of this award, the field of Dynamical Astronomy contains but is not limited to the sub-fields of celestial mechanics, astrometry, geophysics, cosmology, and star and planet formation as well as Solar System, exoplanet, planetary system, stellar system, galactic, extra-galactic, relativistic, and astrophysical fluid dynamics. 

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday March 5th, 2024 through this google form. Preference will be given to applications received by the original date, and decisions will be communicated ahead of the meeting registration deadline.

Eligibility: 

  1. Awardees must give a presentation at the meeting. 

  2. Applicants must be either (1) a current DDA member (affiliate or regular member), or (2) a graduate or undergraduate student. Please note that for students looking for travel support, the DDA also offers the Duncombe Travel Award (which has a separate application - ​​https://dda.aas.org/awards/duncombe). Students are welcome and encouraged to apply for both a supplemental travel grant and the Duncombe Travel Award.

As part of the application for travel support, we ask that applicants submit: 

  1. Their DDA abstract. This does not need to be the final abstract version, and will only be used to assess the relevance of the proposed presentation to the scope of the DDA. 

  2. A one paragraph statement of financial need. As part of this paragraph, please include an estimate of the total cost for your attendance, how much money you are requesting from the DDA, where the remaining money to cover your attendance will come from, and other funding sources available to you at your institution. This paragraph will be used to assess the rubric category “Financial resources,” as awards are intended to go to individuals whose DDA participation would not be possible without partial travel support, as well as determine the amount of funding required. Awards for smaller amounts of funding will be easier for the committee to fulfill. This paragraph will also be used to evaluate the rubric category “Funding from home institution.”

  3. One paragraph answer to the question “How would attending the DDA meeting at this time benefit you”? This will be used to assess the rubric category “Meeting Impact”. Strong responses make the case that the travel support provided by the DDA will provide significant benefit in some concrete dimensions to the attendee. 

  4. Number of in-person conferences attended in the past 5 years. This will allow us to assess how much previous exposure to conferences the applicant has. 

Rubric

Funding priorities will be determined by numeric rankings within two categories: (1) =/> $500 and (2) < $500. Amount of funding available to each category will be determined before applications are assessed but after total money available is known.

Category 

1 - min

2

3

4

5 - max

Financial resources - awards are intended to allow the participation of DDA members who would not be able to attend without travel support. 

Applicant does not describe financial need for award, or applicant has other resources with which they could attend meeting. (1 point min)

 

    

Applicant clearly describes necessity of award for participation in DDA meeting, and justifies amount requested. (5 point max)

Relevance to the DDA - the supplemental funding awards are intended for people whose science is relevant to the DDA. The draft abstract will be used to assess relevance to the science areas listed above.

Presentation would be a better fit for another conference (1 point min)

  

Presentation is topically relevant to DDA (3 point max)

    

Limited funding opportunities from home institutions - awards are intended to allow equitable distribution of aid to those without other resources from their home institutions. 

Applicant is from institution with travel grant opportunities (1 point min)

 

Applicant is from institution with limited funding / resources (3 point max)

    

Previous conference exposure - the award is intended to promote an inclusive conference environment through assisting applicants who have not been able to attend previous astronomy conference meetings due to lack of resources 

Applicant attends at least one conference every year (1 point min)

Applicant has rarely attended academic conferences due to funding limitations (not including virtual meetings; 2 point max)

      

Meeting Impact- in the interests of maximizing the limited amounts of funds we have available, we intend to prioritize funding requests where applicants make clear the benefit they will obtain from attending the meeting. 

Meeting attendance would provide an incremental benefit to the applicant (1 point min)

      

Meeting attendance would provide significant networking and professional development opportunities for the applicant. (5 points max)