In 2021, The Soil Ecology Society (SES) is soliciting nominations for two awards recognizing outstanding young soil ecologists: 1) Early Career Research Award and 2) Outstanding Student-Authored Paper Award.  Awards will be presented during the 2021 Half-Day Virtual Soil Ecology Society Meeting.  Please note, we will solicit our full round of nominations (Career Achievement, Early Career Research, Service and Outstanding Student-Authored Paper Awards) in 2022 as part of the postponed Biennial Meeting at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, in Richland, WA. (Be thinking ahead, and please start planning for 2022 nominations!)

Early Career Research Award. This award recognizes an early career soil ecologist within 5 years of earning their PhD who has demonstrated excellence and outstanding future potential in research and discovery within soil ecology. Prior participation in SES may be considered during the selection process but is not required.

Outstanding Student-Authored Paper Award.  This award will recognize an outstanding peer-reviewed article contribution to the field of soil ecology written by, or about research conducted by, a student author.  This award serves as a bridge between the student Best Presentation Award and the Early-Career Award. It is differentiated from early career in that the Early-Career Award is about overall trajectory, whereas the Outstanding Paper award will acknowledge a “flash” of excellent activity through one paper. Requirements: Must be published from student work (PhD, Masters, or undergrad).  The publication date of the paper may be after graduation, but the work was done as a student, and the paper must have come out within three years prior to the current meeting. In addition to the requirements outlined below, the nomination packet for this will include a pdf of the paper itself (in leu of a CV) as well as an explanation of the timing and ecological significance in the letter of nomination.

Nomination Process. Nominations must include the following:
1) A letter of nomination

2) Two additional letters of recommendation (in addition to the letter of nomination)

3) In the case of the Early Career Research Award, the nominee’s curriculum vitae of at most four pages that clearly demonstrates a record of success and potential for future success in research, demonstrated by the publication of high-impact papers, success in grant writing, and recognition by the broader research community of the originality and potential of a candidate’s research, and in the case of the Outstanding Student-Authored Paper, the paper itself in leu of the CV.

Submitting Nominations. Submit nomination packets as one pdf and questions to SES Secretary Jennifer Krumins (kruminsj@montclair.edu). Please place the name of the award in all email correspondence.