NREL is pleased to announce the Tom and Vicki Kirchner Fellowship to be awarded to qualified undergraduate or graduate students involved in ecological modeling development and application related to projects associated with the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory research efforts. 

The Fellowship will be for $3000 stipend to be used over the next calendar year. The stipend can be used for general use such as meeting registration and travel support, materials for research, etc. 

PURPOSE 

The purpose of the Tom and Vicki Kirchner Fellowship is to provide stipends to benefit undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in any college or major at Colorado State University with an interest in ecological modeling, computation and/or mathematics. The applicants must be currently working or are intending to work with scientists at the CSU Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) during their academic years at Colorado State University.  

Preference shall be given to students demonstrating financial need; first generation students; and/or students from traditionally underrepresented population groups. 

Donors background 

Ecological modeling developed during the 1970’s at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory and continues to be an integral part of the research efforts at NREL. Tom and Vicki Kirchner were early leaders in the modeling efforts at NREL and both worked on model development in the late 1970’s through the 1990’s at NREL. They value the importance of continued growth and support of model development at NREL. 

Application requirement 

The applicants must be graduate or undergraduate students with an interest in ecological modeling, computation and/or mathematics; be currently working or are intending to work with scientists at the CSU’s Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) during their academic years at Colorado State University.  

Applicants should provide demonstrated interest in one or more of these topical areas: 

• Modeling of transport of contaminants in the environment,  
• create models for human and ecological risk assessment,  
• apply sensitivity and uncertainty analysis to models, or  
• model the evolution of ecologically important features.  

Preference shall be given to students demonstrating financial need; first generation students; and/or students from traditionally underrepresented population groups.  

Application  

The application should include: 

• Letter of interest stating the area of environmental/ecosystem modeling being pursued, the name of the NREL scientist to serve as your mentor, and a statement of how you will use the funds. (letter limit one-page). 
• Letter from mentor indicating willingness to guide your research and provide an example of the current work that is being conducted. 
• Brief CV or resume of academic development (two-page limit) 

Expectation of successful applicant 

The successful applicant will be required to submit a final report related to progress in ecological modeling or other appropriate areas of research as outlined above. In addition, to provide a poster or presentation to summarize this work. 

To be eligible, students must be enrolled in courses or in research instruction credit during the award period. International students must provide documentation of their lawful presence in the US. Please see CSU’s Student Financial Services for more discussion on scholarship eligibility requirements.

Applications must be submitted by email to Lauren Ackein, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Natural Environmental Sciences Building, 1499 Campus Delivery. Scholarships are awarded annually in the Fall semester.