The primary purpose of these awards is to encourage presentation of CSU student biotechnology research at national and international professional meetings (see the CSUPERB definition of biotechnology). Regional meetings of national societies will also be considered. Please note that CSUPERB welcomes and encourages applications from all related disciplines, including but not limited to biology, chemistry, math and computer science, agricultural science, engineering, and/or business. CSUPERB considers the definition of biotechnology to be a diverse collection of technologies that capitalize on the attributes, and/or the manipulation, of organisms or tissues, or cellular, sub-cellular, or biomolecular components to discover new knowledge, to solve problems and/or to create models, goods, products, services, and/or therapies (see the CSUPERB definition of biotechnology for a broad listing of supported technologies).

     CSUPERB will reimburse a maximum of one presenting author and one supporting author for each abstract. The reimbursement award is a maximum of $900/student when only one author on an abstract is requesting funding, and $1500 total between two students from a single abstract. Each student must submit a separate application. No more than 2 students may apply for any one abstract. There is no limit to the number of abstracts from a single lab. However, when available funding is insufficient to support all worthy applications, the committee may choose to limit the number of abstracts from one lab that are awarded funding. Additional funding for more expensive trips will have to be requested from other sources. [Note: A portion of the CSUPERB travel fund will be set aside to cover round-trip travel for students presenting posters at the Annual CSUPERB Biotechnology Symposium each January. Students requesting money for travel to the Symposium DO NOT APPLY through this program. The application for that travel is through the Symposium Registration Form.]

     Try to minimize the cost of travel whenever possible. State contracted rates for air travel, car rentals and lodging may help to reduce the cost of your travel. The maximum that CSUPERB will reimburse for air travel between contracted cities, car rental and lodging will be the state contract rate. See Government Contract Rates for Travel for information on the contract rates and how to use them. Also check discount airlines such as Southwest and Jet Blue for fares which may be lower than contract rate.

     To be eligible for this award, the student must be a CSU undergraduate or Master's student at the time of travel and the student's contribution to the work being presented must be substantial. There are no funds available for Ph.D. students this academic year.

     In addition, some campuses require the student to be a CSU employee in order to be reimbursed. If the student will not be a paid employee at the time of travel (such as teaching/research assistant or work study), the student may sign up as a voluntary employee for that time period. The student must do this prior to the travel by filling out the appropriate forms at the Personnel Office. This process may take several days, so plan accordingly. Please check with your campus travel clerk to determine if this is a requirement on your campus.

     The student must complete the electronic Application Form for Student Travel. This form includes an abstract of the talk/poster including the date(s) and title of the meeting at which the work will be/was presented; a budget including registration fee, per diem expenses, travel to and from meeting; and an essay on future goals describing how this travel grant will help the student reach his/her research and career goals. In addition, the student must arrange for a faculty member to submit a letter of recommendation by the application deadline (see Faculty Letter of Recommendation below). The student does NOT have to have confirmation that the abstract has been accepted for presentation prior to the time of requesting the travel award. If the request is awarded, however, the money will not be given to the student unless the talk/poster is accepted for presentation. The review committee will generate an ALTERNATE list, in case someone is not able to present their research.
      The Application Form must be submitted electronically by:

September 28, 2008: for travel from July 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009
March 8, 2009: for travel from Jan 1 to June 30, 2009

     One letter of recommendation must be submitted from a faculty member who knows the student and is familiar with the student's research project using the online form. The recommendation letter must be submitted by the application deadline listed above. Be sure your advisor is aware of this requirement and the deadline. Applications without the faculty letter will not be considered.

     Applications will be reviewed twice each year. The reviews are carried out by a committee of at four to six CSUPERB members. Notification of awards should be expected within one month from the deadline dates.

     Some campuses require the student to be a CSU employee in order to be reimbursed. If the student will not be a paid employee at the time of travel (such as teaching/research assistant or work study), the student may sign up as a voluntary employee for that time period. The student must do this prior to the travel by filling out the appropriate forms at the Personnel Office. This process may take several days, so plan accordingly. Please check with your campus travel clerk to determine if this is a requirement on your campus.
      CSUPERB disburses funds to the appropriate college(s) at each university; thus the student should submit all paper work to their own college/department travel clerk rather than to the CSUPERB office at SDSU. [Note: SDSU students should submit their paperwork, Request for Absence Form and Travel Expense Claim Form, to Pat Alfano in the CSUPERB office following the time lines listed below].

1. TRAVEL REQUEST FORM: Prior to travel you should submit a travel request form to your travel clerk. These forms are non-standard and will vary from campus to campus. They may have slightly different names, such as "Request for Absence Form", and will vary in appearance. You should check with your travel clerk to be sure you have the correct form, to determine how far in advance of the travel the form is due, and for help completing the form.

 

2. TRAVEL EXPENSE CLAIM FORM: These forms are now also non-standard and will vary from campus to campus.  You should check with your travel clerk to be sure you have the correct form for your campus. Two weeks after approval OR two weeks after travel (whichever is later), a Travel Expense Claim Form shall be completed and the original, signed copy accompanied by appropriate original documentation (e.g. airline ticket receipt) shall be submitted to your college/department travel clerk. Travel will not be reimbursed if the Travel Expense Claim Form and documentation are not submitted to your college/department travel clerk within two weeks after approval or two weeks after travel (whichever is later). Your travel clerk can help you fill in this form or see Travel Expense Claim Form Tips. for some general tips. [NOTE: the Travel Claim Form is a different form than the "Travel Request Form" in No. 1 above.]

     In order to help CSUPERB better serve the travel needs of the CSU faculty and students, we request that all travel grantees please complete a short, on-line CSUPERB Travel Program Evaluation Form after travel has been completed.