The Climate Specialty Group (CSG) of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) proudly announces its competition for undergraduate and graduate students presenting climatology-oriented papers at the annual meeting in Washington, DC (April 14-18, 2010). This competition provides an excellent opportunity to showcase your research to others in the climate community and gain some recognition for yourself and your home institution. Students will present in special CSG Student Paper Competition Sessions, however, students committed to other paper sessions will be accepted.

Cash awards will be awarded by the CSG as follows; $250 for first place, $175 for second place, $100 for third place, and $50 for honorable mention. Book awards will also be provided to the top three presenters

An eligible student is an individual who has not yet received a PhD, or has received the PhD this academic year. Also, the student must be the primary author of the research presented. At least two-thirds of the research and all of the presentation should be prepared by the student.

The Honors Committee of the CSG will evaluate the student papers based on research design, substance of findings, and presentation. Rules for the competition, including judging criteria, may be found on the CSG homepage: http://www.geography.du.edu/csg/.

To enter the contest, please send an email or letter stating that you meet the eligibility requirements, paper abstract, and your AAG PIN number to Dr. Steven Quiring, CSG Honors Director, squiring@geog.tamu.edu. Please also state whether or not you plan to present in the formal CSG Student Paper Competition session(s) or another organized session.

Deadline for entry is October 25, 2009

Rules for the Climate Specialty Group Student Paper/Poster Presentation Competition:

1. An eligible student is an individual who has not yet received a Ph.D., or has received the Ph.D. within the same academic year of their contest participation.

2. For a paper/poster to be eligible for the student paper/poster competition, the work presented must belong predominantly to the student submitting the paper. At least two-thirds of the research, and all of the presentation, must be the product of the student's own work. Advisors and co-authors can certainly be recognized, but the bulk of the research must be performed by the student. A statement affirming the above must be included in the submission cover letter.

3. The deadline for the RECEIPT of an entry in the competition is set as two weeks prior to the AAG Annual meeting abstract deadline.

4. To enter the competition, a student must submit a statement of eligibility, an abstract, and a current AAG PIN number to the CSG Honors Director.

5. The evaluation of student papers/papers will be based on both the extended abstract and the presentation. Grades will be assigned by each judge in the following three categories:

Introduction and Methodology (30% of score)
Statement of Objectives
Relation to Previous Research
Research Design

Results (30% of score)
Substance of Findings
Relation of Findings to Objectives
Conclusions

Presentation (40% of score)
Organization
Visuals
Vocalization
Response to questions

The substance of the paper/poster and presentation accounts for 60% of the evaluation score, while the presentation mechanics accounts for 40% of the score. Scoring in each category is based on a 10 point numerical grading system:

9-10 = Excellent
7-8 = Very Good
5-6 = Good
3-4 = Fair
1-2 = Substandard

The judges are encouraged to utilize the entire score range. Each student will be given a separate numerical grade for each of the three categories. If there are ties in the final standings, the Results category score will serve as a tie breaker.

6. All papers/posters will be judged by members of the Climate Specialty Group Honors Committee. When fewer than three committee members are present, additional evaluations will be sought from impartial scholars, so that a minimum of three evaluations are available for assessing each student paper presentation