JORDI M. DE GIBERT
This scholarship was established to honor Jordi, a friend and enthusiastic ichnologist, who was a strong supporter of student involvement and international collaboration. This fund supports graduate student participation to primarily ICHNIA, the International Congress of Ichnology and, when funds allow, to other international meetings. Calls for applications are planned about six months in advance of ICHNIA.
About Jordi
Dr. Jordi María de Gibert was an outstanding man, geologist, paleontologist and ichnologist, as well as a remarkable teacher and communicator. Both in his personal life and as a scientist, Jordi was always willing to share and spread his knowledge, and enriching his ideas and projects with the new input coming from his friends, his family and his colleagues. He loved the worlds of paleontology and ichnology, to which he became a passionate supporter of our research and community. He was dedicated to the introduction of young students to this science and to the development of an enlarged and inclusive Ichnological community, as shown by his active involvement in the creation of the International Ichnological Association (IIA), of which he was a founding member. Whenever he had the opportunity, Jordi shared his knowledge with the newcomers. In his latest years, Jordi became especially concerned with the differences in access to opportunities and funding among junior scientists from countries where a lack of government investment poses serious constraints on developing knowledge in his area of scientific expertise.
About the scholarship
Purpose
To encourage the education of graduate students in the science of ichnology by providing financial assistance to participate in professional scientific meetings devoted to ichnology, including especially (but not necessarily limited to) the regularly scheduled “Ichnia” congress sponsored by the International Ichnological Association (IIA).
Depending on the availability of funds, the committee or the Board of the IIA is entitled to propose new awards for events other than ICHNIA.
Eligibility
Applicants may include any graduate student member of the IIA who is currently enrolled as a candidate for an academic degree at a scientific institution anywhere in the world. Candidates should be members of the International Ichnological Association at the time of application to the scholarship.
Application
Applicants must submit their application to the IIA president no later than six months prior to the beginning date of the meeting that will be attended.
1.
A written request for scholarship funds (in letter form), indicating the intention to attend Ichnia and identify if there is any other financial assistance available that can complement the travel grant.
2.
An estimated budget of the travel expenses.
3.
An abstract of the ichnological research that the student intends to present at the meeting as an oral presentation or poster.
4.
Any additional information that the applicant may wish to submit relating to his/her future aspirations as a professional scientist in applying ichnology to significant geological and/or biological problems (e.g., publications, previous presentations).
Please send your completed application as a single file to
IIA president <alfred.uchman@uj.edu.pl>
Selection committee & criteria
The President of the IIA, with the consent of the other officers, shall appoint a scholarship selection committee consisting of not less than three and not more than seven people, all of whom must be full (not student) members of the IIA. The President shall designate one of those persons to serve as chair of the selection committee. At the President’s discretion, one or more members of Jordi Maria de Gibert’s surviving family may be invited to participate in discussions related to the scholarship fund and/or the scholarship applicants, but they may not have a vote in the selection of the scholarship recipient(s). Service on the selection committee may be for one or more years, at the discretion of the IIA President. The selection committee should not include any IIA’s member who serves as academic advisor of an scholarship applicant.
The scholarship selection committee will review and evaluate all application materials received prior to the application deadline. Criteria for selection of the scholarship recipient(s) will include assessments of:
(a)
The specific financial needs of the applicant.
(b)
The scientific merits of the research that will be presented.
(c)
the promise of the applicant as an outstanding contributor to the advancement of the science of ichnology in future years.
Disbursement
The scholarship recipient(s) will receive a check in the full amount of the scholarship award from the IIA Treasurer. Use of the money should be restricted to expenditures to cover the costs of (a) the meeting registration fee, (b) field trip fee, (c) travel expenses to the meeting venue, (d) daily expenses for lodging and meals during the meeting, and/or (e) preparation costs related to the student’s poster presentation at the meeting. After the funds are expended, the scholarship recipient should submit to the IIA Treasurer a brief account of how the money was spent. Money in the scholarship fund will be used exclusively for scholarship awards. Incidental costs for managing the scholarship fund, such as postage or printing of scholarship certificates, should be paid from the general fund of the IIA and not paid from the scholarship fund.
(Note: To avoid double funding of one activity, the receipts should be submitted by the student to the IIA treasurer).
Recommendation
& fund allocation
After evaluating the applicants and considering the possible amount of money to be awarded, the scholarship selection committee will decide by simple majority vote to recommend the scholarship recipient(s) and the monetary amount of the scholarship award(s) to the IIA President, who is authorized to approve (or disapprove) the selection committee’s recommendation. The IIA Board, together with the De Gibert Scholarship Committee, will decide every year/period on the amount of funds allocated to the scholarship as well as the maximum amount per individual, prior to opening the awarding procedure. One or more scholarships may be awarded during any given year up to the total amount allocated per event, but there is no requirement that a scholarship must be awarded in any given year.
Management of the scholarship fund
Income
Income to the scholarship fund includes monetary contributions from any individual or organization plus any interest earned on investments of the principal of the fund. Potential non-monetary contributions, such as objects (e.g., fossil specimens or art objects) or investment instruments (e.g., stocks or bonds) will not be accepted.
Investment
At the discretion of the IIA officers, some portion or all of the principal of the scholarship fund may be invested responsibly in such a way as to generate interest income to be used for future scholarship awards.
Accounting
At least once a year, and coordinated with the financial budgeting and reporting procedures of the Association, the IIA Treasurer will submit a report of the status of the scholarship fund, including a summary of the income, disbursements and remaining balance to the Committee and the donors.
Changes
Any deviations from procedures outlined in this controlling document or any changes to this controlling document must be approved by a unanimous vote of the IIA officers. In case of changes in the objectives of the scholarship, members of the surviving family should be consulted.
Approved by
Alfred Uchman - President of IIA
Noelia Carmona - Secretary of IIA
Jennifer Scott - Treasurer of IIA
Gabriela Mángano - Jordi Maria Collaborator & Initiator of the Fund
Inma Gonzalez – Wife of Jordi & family Representative
Luis A. Buatois- Former President of IIA- Jordi Maria de Gilbert Collaborator
Jordi Martinell - Representative of Universitat de Barcelona, Jordi Maria Home Institution, Advisor & Collaborator
Allan A. Ekdale - Jordi Maria Mentor &Collaborator
Renata Netto - Jordi Maria Collaborator
Allan H. Curran - Jordi Maria Collaborator