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Virginia Tech Postdoctoral Associate Travel Award program

The Postdoctoral Travel Award program helps Virginia Tech postdoctoral associates increase their impact and professional development by presenting their scholarly work at high-impact conferences. The award provides funds to offset the cost of travel and registration for a conference or scientific meeting where they are presenting.   

Program Details

  • Proposals with substantial faculty supervisor or department cost share will be given priority. 
  • Awards are capped at $500 for domestic travel.
  • Applications are reviewed on a quarterly basis and decisions are made within six weeks of application due-dates.
  • Postdocs may receive more than one award each year, up to a total award amount of $1,000 per individual per fiscal year.
  • Postdocs receiving a travel award must submit a one-page summary of the experience, the value obtained from attending, and two to three photos from the conference (i.e., the postdoc presenting, engaging with attendees/colleagues/mentors, etc.) within 30 days of the event.

Applications should include:

  • Short description of the research and how the conference supports the postdoc's career goals, including an outline of how the postdoc plans to engage in specific professional development events and networking opportunities at the conference
  • Faculty supervisor recommendation letter indicating how attending the conference will benefit the postdoc's career and professional development
  • Itemized budget with sources and uses of funds
  • Updated CV
  • Evidence of presentation/talk acceptance:
    • Invitation
    • Paper/poster/talk acceptance form
    • Or other correspondence from the conference

2023 Due Dates

  • Feb. 6
  • Apr. 24
  • July 31
  • Oct. 30

Interested applicants may want to download a word document of the Travel Award Application to craft your responses and gather the necessary details prior to applying. 

All applications must be submitted via the application portal at the link below.

1st Quarter Awardees

  • Yu Chen, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
    • Presented at the Applied Power Electronics Conference 2023
  • Lakshmi Kumar Kunche, Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
    • Presented at the American Chemical Society Spring 2023
  • Paul Sands, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute 
    • Presented at Society for Affective Science 2023 Conference
  • Fangxi Wang, Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
    • Presented at the American Chemical Society Spring 2023

2nd Quarter Awardees

  • Sailesh Adhikari, Sustainable Biomaterials, College of Natural Resources and Environment
    • Presented at 2023 International Society of Wood Science Technology Convention
  • Naimat Bari, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
    • Presented at 6th Stevens Conference on Bacteria-Material Interactions
  • George Brooks, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, College of Natural Resources and Environment
    • Presented at Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
  • Anh Ha, Ph.D., Biological Sciences, College of Science
    • Presented at International Virus Bioinformatics Meeting 2023
  • Alayna Hay, Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
    • Presented at American Association of Immunologists Annual Conference
  • Saundra Johnson Austin, Engineering Education, College of Engineering
    • Presented at American Society for Engineering Education
  • Thomas Linscott, Biological Sciences, College of Science
    • Presented at Evolution 2023
  • Freya Olsson, Biological Sciences, College of Science
    • Presented at Ecological Society of America 2023 Annual Meeting
  • Joao Santos, Commonwealth Cyber Initiative
    • Presented at IEEE International Conference on Communications 
  • Megan Vogt, Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
    • Presented at American Society for Virology 2023

3rd Quarter Awardees

  • John Aggrey, Science, Technology, and Society, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
    • Presenting at Society for Social Studies of Science Annual Conference
  • Max Jones, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, College of Natural Resources and Environment
    • Presenting at The Wildlife Society's 30th Annual Conference
  • Christo Kurisummoottil Thomas, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
    • Presenting at IEEE European Signal Processing Conference
  • Petar Mlinaric, Mathematics, College of Science
    • Presenting at European Conference on Numerical Mathematics and Advanced Applications
  • Jessica Strickler, Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, College of Engineering
    • Presenting at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting