ATW Call for Nominations for the Dr. Richard Playle Awards for Outstanding BSc and MSc Theses in Aquatic Toxicology

Nominations are currently being sought for the Dr.Richard C. Playle Awards for Outstanding Theses in Aquatic Toxicology. These awards (one each at the BSc and MSc levels) were established by ATW in memory of Dr. Richard Colin Playle, a Professor of Biology at Wilfrid Laurier University from 1992 to 2005, who was an enthusiastic supporter of ATW and whose original insight spawned what is essentially a new area of research in aquatic toxicology: Biotic Ligand Modeling.

Award:

At the annual meeting, award recipients will be presented with a commemorative plaque, plus a cheque in the amount of $300 for Honours BSc students and $700 for MSc students.

Award recipients are expected to give an oral presentation on the subject of their thesis dissertation at the next meeting. The 39th Aquatic Toxicity Workshop will be held in Sun Peaks on Sept. 30 - Oct. 3, 2012.

In order to support recipient attendance at the meeting, the following costs will be reimbursed by ATW, up to a maximum of CAD $1,000:

• Registration at ATW for the day of the recipient’s oral presentation and award presentation (one day)
• Reasonable expenses for transportation at minimum rates
• One night's accommodation (if required).

Eligibility:

In order to qualify for this award, individuals under consideration must have had their thesis submitted and accepted at an accredited university within the year preceding the nomination deadline.

Nominations are limited to one thesis per degree level (BSc and MSc) per department, although more than one department in a university may nominate a thesis.

Selection of Award Recipients:

Selection of recipients will be made by a committee of three judges chosen from among past, present and future ATW organizing committee members. Awards will be made annually if qualified applicants are identified.

In each of the two categories (BSc and MSc), theses will be judged on the:

• Quality of the science (50%)
• Presentation of the thesis (20%)
• Quality of the applicant, as reflected in their CV (30%).

Dr. Playle was an enthusiastic supporter of the arts and literature and recognized the value of contributing to his community inside and outside the university.  Candidates whose CV demonstrates a broad range of activities and/or participation in extracurricular fields will receive a higher weighting in the competition in keeping with Dr. Playle's philosophy of leading a well-rounded life.

Winners will be notified of the award by August 31, 2012 and formally announced at the annual meeting in October.

Nomination Instructions:

The nomination package must include:

• Thesis
• Nominee’s CV
• Letter of support written jointly by the nominee’s supervisor and the Chair of the nominee’s department

While the thesis and CV may be submitted either electronically or in hard copy, the letter of support with original signatures must be received in hard copy.

The complete nomination package must be received by the following representative of ATW’s Board of Directors by June 13, 2012:

Rosalie Allen Jarvis
ATW Board of Directors
Environment Canada
45 Alderney Drive
Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 2N6
Email: Rosalie.AllenJarvis@ec.gc.ca
Tel: 902-426-1571
Fax: 902-426-8373