The Challenger-Woodward Fellowship
We are pleased to announce a new award of this Challenger Society Fellowship first awarded in 2018.
This was awarded for the first time at the biennial Challenger Society Meeting in Newcastle and will be awarded to an early career-stage marine scientist who is carrying out research in the field of Nutrients and Nutrient Cycling in the Oceans.
This £2000 Fellowship is made possible by a generous gift from Society Honorary Life Member, Malcolm Woodward. The Fellowship will be awarded on a biennial basis to an eligible scientist who is a member of the Challenger Society for their achievements and promise.
The bursary will provide support for the Fellow to attend conferences/workshops, travel for fieldwork, and carry out activities aligned to the objectives of the Society for a period of up to 2 years following award.
Nominations/Eligibility
- Nominations for the Fellowship are sought for outstanding early career researchers, quoting their contribution to the field and evidencing their potential as a future leader in marine science.
- Nominees should be early career researchers. The Challenger Society defines early career researchers as those who are:
· within eight years of their highest degree (BSc, MSc, PhD award), or equivalent professional training
· within six years of their first academic appointment (the first full or part time paid employment contract that lists research or teaching as the primary functions).
These periods exclude any career break, for example:
· family care
· health reasons
· reasons related to COVID-19 such as home schooling or increased teaching load. - The nomination should be submitted by a single proposer with support provided in writing by one or two (preferably) other members of the Society and/or other marine scientists of appropriate standing in the community. The letters of support should be included with the submission of the proposal along with a short CV of the nominee.
- Nominations should be submitted to the President of The Society (mmm@bas.ac.uk) or to the Honorary Secretary (kathen@bas.ac.uk) before April 30th 2024.
- Nominees should be members of the Society.
- Current Council members of the Society are ineligible for any award or prize.
- The Challenger Society is working towards being a fully equitable and inclusive organisation (see EDI statement here). The Society encourages you to consider nominating individuals from underrepresented and/or diverse backgrounds.
Latest News
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
NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025
The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. The agenda will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join.
To participate, please complete your registration here.
For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk