Travel and Registration Support

About Travel Awards

SIAM offers conference support for all students in good standing as well as early career participants who are affiliated with U.S. institutions. Funding for these awards is provided by SIAM operating funds, donations to the SIAM Student Travel Fund, royalties generously donated by SIAM book authors, and a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).

The awards (unless otherwise noted in the award letter) come with free registration. SIAM staff will provide clarification. NOTE: Please do NOT register yourself for the conference until you receive a status update regarding your application. If you receive an award, SIAM staff will provide further information about the registration process for travel awardees. SIAM Travel Awards consist of $650 for domestic travel and $800 for intercontinental travel. For conferences that do not include free registration, $50 is added to the award total for students, and $150 is added for early career professionals.

For Student Applicants

Eligibility Criteria

Any full-time student in good standing is eligible to receive an award.

The application process is competitive. The following factors are considered in ranking applicants:

Scholarship

Graduate students, especially those nearing completion of their program, tend to have a stronger record of scholarship. A student's research should be relevant to the topic/themes of the conference.

Active Participation in the Conference

Students making a presentation will have priority over students who are non-presenting co-authors of a paper being presented. Non-presenting co-authors will have priority over students attending as observers.

Other Factors

• Underrepresented groups (women and underrepresented minorities) may be given preference.
• Evidence of ties to SIAM, such as membership and student chapter participation, may be considered.
• Advisor's letter of recommendation.

Required Materials

From the Student

Statement:

• Requesting conference support
• Providing rationale for the request
• Explaining your interest in attending the conference

If you are giving a presentation:

• Title of paper or poster
• Type (minisymposium paper, contributed paper, or poster)

If there are co-author(s) of your paper or poster:

• Name(s) of co-author(s)
• Affiliation(s) of co-author(s)

If you are presenting in a minisymposium:

• Title of minisymposium
• Name(s) of the minisymposium organizer(s)

CV:

• Your contact information
• Expected date (month/year) of the award of your PhD
• Institution awarding your PhD
• Your advisor’s name
• Recent publications
• URL for a working webpage that expands on the information in you CV (optional)

From the Advisor

Letter of Recommendation (written on institutional letterhead):

• Student’s scholarly achievements
• Student’s scholarly potential
• Any special circumstances

The advisor will receive an auto-generated email from the SIAM Travel Awards program requesting the letter of recommendation and providing instructions on how to submit it. The student will not be able to upload the letter of recommendation as part of the application process. The student should submit their application early enough for their advisor to have time to submit the letter of recommendation before the deadline.

For Early Career Applicants

Eligibility Criteria

The terms of SIAM's grant from the NSF restricts eligibility to researchers affiliated with U.S. institutions at the time of the conference. To qualify as "early career," an applicant must be within six years of their Ph.D. at the time of the conference.

Required Materials

From the Applicant

Statement:

• Requesting travel award
• Providing rationale for the request
• Explaining your interest in attending the conference

If you are giving a presentation:

• Title of paper or poster
• Type (minisymposium paper, contributed paper, or poster)

If there are co-author(s) of your paper or poster:

• Name(s) of co-author(s)
• Affiliation(s) of co-author(s)

If you are presenting in a minisymposium:

• Title of minisymposium
• Name(s) of the minisymposium organizer(s)

CV:

• Your contact information
• Date (month/year) of the award of your PhD
• Institution awarding your PhD
• Your adviser’s name
• Recent publications
• URL for a working webpage that expands on the information in you CV (optional)

From a Senior Colleague

Letter of Recommendation (written on institutional letterhead):

• Support for the application
• Any special circumstances

The letter of recommendation from a senior colleague is not required but is recommended. The senior colleague will receive an auto-generated email from the SIAM Travel Awards program requesting the letter of recommendation and providing instructions on how to submit it. The applicant will not be able to upload the letter of recommendation as part of the application process. The applicants should submit their application early enough for their colleague to have time to submit the letter of recommendation before the deadline.

General Information About Support

Deadlines

Complete applications for conferences should be submitted approximately three months before the first day of the conference the applicant wishes to attend. On the deadline date, no application will be accepted after 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. In addition, for full consideration, applicants must submit the abstract of their paper or poster using the Conference Management System (CMS) prior to the submission deadline. The deadlines apply to all required application materials, and no late applications will be accepted.

Awardees will be notified by email approximately six weeks before the early registration deadline.

Travel Outside United States

Travel outside of the U.S. under this program must comply with the Fly America Act. In some cases, the United States has entered into bilateral or multilateral “Open Skies” agreements with other nations. In these cases, The Fly America Act does not prohibit travel funded by civilian government agencies or carriers associated with these nations. For example, there are such agreements with the European Union (including non‑EU members Norway and Iceland), Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Israel, and Japan. See a full list of transportation agreements.

Reimbursement Process

To obtain the support, the travel awardee must file an expense report, including all required receipts, within 30 days of the end of the conference. Reimbursements should be submitted via SIAM's Online Reimbursement Portal.

Notes

Applying for conference support is a separate process from submitting an abstract for presentation. Applying for conference support does NOT submit your abstract for consideration for presentation. Similarly, your abstract will not be automatically withdrawn if you are not granted a travel award. To submit an abstract, click on the "Submissions" link at the web page of the conference in which you plan to participate.

Funds are limited, so a student may expect to receive at most one travel award per year. Due to limited funds, an adviser may expect no more than one student to receive an award to any given conference.