Applications for the DeSSC New Users Program are now being accepted – Deadline: September 27, 2018 (Financial support for travel is available.)
Opportunity: Participate in a workshop tailored to engage new users of deep submergence science facilities, including students, early career scientists, engineers and scientists with little or no previous experience in deep-sea research. The workshop is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, December 8-9, 2018 in Washington, DC (before the AGU Fall meeting). Applications for travel and lodging support are being accepted through Thursday, September 27, 2018.
Background: The National Deep Submergence Facility (or NDSF) manages and operates the U.S. submersible Alvin, the remotely operated vehicle Jason/Medea, and the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry. These deep submergence vehicles are renowned for facilitating and advancing deep-sea research.
The UNOLS Deep Submergence Science Committee (DeSSC) is a committee of scientists who provide recommendations and advice to the operator and supporting funding agencies of the NDSF. The DeSSC fall meeting, held annually on the Sunday before the start of the AGU fall meeting, is an open forum for scientists and engineers to learn about scientific discoveries and technical advances, as well as to express their opinions both within NDSF and from other deep submergence facility operations.
DeSSC New Users Program: DeSSC is committed to increasing the involvement of students and postdoctoral/early career scientists. To that end, we have developed the new users program to: 1) expose students, early career scientists and other new users to DeSSC, the NDSF, Federal Agency Representatives, and other deep submergence facility operators; 2) engage participants in DeSSC advisory activities; 3) offer participants training and mentoring in the process of developing research programs that use NDSF and other deep-sea vehicles; and 4) enable participants to network with scientists actively involved in deep-sea facility-supported research. These goals will be achieved through a workshop (prior to the DeSSC meeting) in which more experienced deep-sea scientists, vehicle operators, and federal representatives share their expertise on deep-sea research, program funding, technology, and data management, and by directly involving participants in the DeSSC fall meeting. Additional suggestions for this year's program are welcome and can be submitted on the application form.
The DeSSC New Users Program will be held on Saturday, December 8th and is tentatively scheduled from 11:45 am to 5:30 pm, followed by a dinner (6:30 pm to 9:00 pm) featuring a guest speaker. The DeSSC fall meeting will occur on Sunday, December 9th from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm (the day before the start of the 2018 AGU Fall meeting) in Washington, DC. The organizing committee for the DeSSC New Users Program includes Vicki Ferrini (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory), Peter Girguis (Harvard University, Brian Glazer (University of Hawaii) and Karyn Rogers (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute).
Application: Students, early career scientists, and engineers can apply for financial support to offset the cost of travel and lodging for the program. Participants must attend the entire Saturday program, dinner, and Sunday DeSSC meeting. To apply for the DeSSC New Users Program, please complete the online application form at: <https://goo.gl/forms/A6gjaGLBTKgvVQ4o2>. The deadline for application is Tuesday, September 27, 2018.