Background: An award totaling $12,000 was endowed via a bequest by Werner Hans Hermann Hesse to support graduate students engaged in ornithological research, with preference given to those studying wild birds.  Werner and Hildegard Hesses’ passion for wild birds was sparked in night classes on the ecology and conservation of birds at UBC and led them to become leaders in amateur ornithology. The Hesses conducted bird surveys in the Canadian arctic, compiled BC’s Christmas Bird Counts for over 20 years, and developed a special concern for the harmful effects of human development on bird habitats and populations. The Hesses delighted in funding ornithological research and, particularly, contributing to the long-term monitoring of population change in seabirds of the Pacific Coast.

Eligibility: Graduate students of the University of British Columbia (Vancouver campus) that will conduct field research on the CONSERVATION, ECOLOGY OR EVOLUTION of wild birds.

Application deadline:  Jan 4 2013.  Announcement of Awards:  Feb 27 2013.  All supporting materials  (except supervisor’s support letter) should be submitted as a single file in PDF format to HesseAward@biodiversity.ubc.ca by the deadline. Supervisor’s should send  letters directly to the address above with the Student’s name in the document title.

Application Guidelines
A complete application will include:

1. Proposal (500 words max.) including

• Title
• Introduction (identify questions to be studied and current state of knowledge).
• Description of Research (describe approach to research, including hypotheses, logic and design of experiments/observations, materials and methods, sample sizes and statistical approaches).
• Significance of proposed research (how will the proposed work advance applied, empirical or theoretical issues in ornithology?).
• Literature Cited (Short format citations including author, date, journal issue and page numbers).

2. Budget 

Itemized costs of overall research project, specifying known and potential sources of funding, and identifying in bold expenses requested from the Hesse Fund. Hesse Funds can be used for expanses related to student travel, stipend support, attendance at meetings, and capital or expendable equipment and supplies.

• Budgets requesting less than the total amount available may allow the disbursement of multiple awards annually but will be evaluated on an equal footing with those requesting the full amount.

3. Curriculum vitae (2 page maximum)

• A CV detailing educational, research and laboratory experience relevant to the proposed research, current and previous awards, conference presentations and peer-reviewed papers.

4. Letter of recommendation from the applicant’s supervisor

• Supporting letter detailing the merits of the candidate and proposed research, and verifying the additional sources of cash and in-kind support available directly or indirectly to the candidate.
  

Photo credit: P. Arcese