The Chris Daniels Early Career Grant
Description
The Chris Daniels Early Career Grant aims to provide an opportunity for motivated early career researchers (ECR) to create or establish a forum to discuss specific challenges and resources relevant to ECRs in the field of marine science. The award will fund to up to £1000 to the successful applicant to organise a stand-alone early career workshop or to attach an event to an already existing conference. The funding can go towards covering the costs of the space and/or catering services and/or travel support. It is expected that the successful applicant will advertise the Challenger Society at the event, and provide a report of the event to be published and publicized on the Challenger Society blog and social media within 3 months of the event. This opportunity is open to Challenger Society members inside and outside the UK. This award is dedicated to the memory of Dr Chris Daniels, a marine biogeochemist and advocate of early career researchers.
Application and EligibilityApplicants must fulfill the following criteria:
- The maximum amount funded will be £1000 per call. This amount must be allocated to the meeting’s expenses. It cannot be used to cover salary costs. Travel costs may be covered.
- The applicant must be an early career researcher who is involved in the organisation of the event. The Challenger Society ECR definition can be found here.
- The applicant and target audience for the event must be in the field of marine science. There must be a clear statement in the application of the benefit that the event provides to early career researchers.
- The applicant must agree to advertise the Challenger Society (logo display/banner and flyers will be provided by the society) at the event.
- The applicant must provide a report of the event at its completion, to be published by the Challenger Society blog within 2 months of the event.
- The Challenger Society is working towards being a fully equitable and inclusive organisation (see EDI statement here). The Society encourages applicants from underrepresented and/or diverse backgrounds to apply.
Applicants will be required to submit:
- CV
- An application form
- Letter of support from conference organisers, or host institution.
An example of a successful application can be found here.
Timeline for Application
- Deadline for applications: 1st April 2025
- Public recognition to awardee: Challenger Society Conference 2026, Bangor
About Dr Chris Daniels
Chris Daniels was an extremely passionate marine scientist, who was well known and respected in the scientific community. Chris had outstanding publication record for an ECR, and in his short career he worked as part of several large projects and participated in multiple research cruises. Chris consistently advocated for ECRs through his contributions to the Challenger Society. He was involved in setting up the first ‘Diversity in Marine Science’ event at a Challenger meeting that aimed to tackle some of the issues around early career and diversity in marine science. He was a very active member of the Challenger Society, attending every biennial and relevant special interest meeting that occurred during his career. His main academic passion and scientific legacy was studying coccolithophores and calcite production, particularly Coccolithus pelagicus, a species of which he was very fond of! After his PhD Chris worked at the British Oceanographic Data Centre on the GEOTRACES program whilst he sought post-doctoral opportunities. Early in this post he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and sadly passed away in November 2018 aged just 31. This award is dedicated to the memory of an incredible scientist and dedicated ECR, whose career never reached full potential but his legacy shall live on through this award.
Latest News
Marine Data Management, Governance and the MEDIN toolset
The Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) and OceanWise are delighted to invite you to attend our popular free online training workshop: ‘Marine Data Management, Governance and the MEDIN toolset’ on the 19th – 23rd of May 2025.
Workshop on the contribution of UK Arctic Ocean science to the International Polar Year 32/33
12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May
REGISTER HERE
Pre-meeting questionnaire (open to all)
The purpose of this workshop is for the UK Ocean Science community to discuss and then draft a prospectus document outlining the priority Arctic research questions the community would like to address during the run up to, throughout and beyond the International Polar Year 32/33. Additionally, to identify what unique strengths and technologies the UK has to help fill these knowledge gaps.
The second day of the workshop will be dedicated to writing groups, one for each of the priority research questions identified - from both the pre-meeting questionnaire (HERE) and day one discussion. By the end of the meeting, each group will have produced draft text and sourced supporting figures for the prospectus.
Post meeting, the draft will be opened for comments and suggestions from everyone, regardless of whether they were able to attend the workshop or not. It will then be shared with UK funders (UKRI, FCDO, DSIT, ARIA) and potential international programmes with whom we would like to collaborate (e.g. Arctic 2050, Norway). It will form a basis from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities can be built, e.g. at the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September in Northumbria.
To ensure balanced community and ECR representation, and to ensure that the size of the writing groups is efficient and effective, if the number of registrations from individual institutes becomes overwhelming, we may contact individuals or teams and ask that each institute selects a smaller number of individuals to attend in-person. Please wait for confirmation of in-person attendance before finalising travel arrangements.
The workshop will be open to hybrid attendance and contributions on both days.
Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy
The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.
The role involves:
- Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
- Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
- Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
- Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
- Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
- Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS
The usual term for Council members is three years.
For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council
For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards
If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk