February 5, 2019    Events and Deadlines

This newsletter is distributed to department heads, graduate program directors, graduate program contact staff, and graduate faculty. 

Graduate Program Directors 

Nominate Graduate Students for K-State Alumni Association Awards

K-State Alumni Association is seeking nominations for three awards that graduate students are eligible to be nominated: Graduate Student Awards for Academics and Service and Leadership, and Tony Jurich Community Commitment and Leadership Student Awards. Nominations forms and information available on the Alumni Association website. Due by Wednesday, February 20 at 5:00 p.m

International Student Scholarship

The K-State Alumni Association invited international K-State students to apply for one of ten $500 International Student Scholarships. You must be a degree-seeking graduate or undergraduate Kansas State University student enrolled at the Manhattan, Polytechnic or Olathe campus. Your leadership experience at K-State has helped promote international involvement on campus.
Students applying for the fall 2019 scholarship must complete a scholarship application by March 4, 2019.

Call for graduate student nominations: Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop

The Graduate School is accepting nominations for two graduate students in STEM-related fields to attend the AAAS Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop March 24-27 in Washington, DC. For more details, see the full announcement in K-State Today. To nominate a student, the graduate program director or department chair must provide a short — approximately 100 words — paragraph on why they are nominating the student. The student also must provide a short — approximately 100 word — paragraph addressing why he or she would like to attend the workshop, what they expect to gain from the experience, and how it would fit into their career plans, as well as a short CV. Please send nomination documents to Megan Miller (mmmiller@ksu.edu) by 5:00pm on February 10.  Questions can be directed to Carol Shanklin (shanklin@ksu.edu), dean of the Graduate School.

Faculty 

Attend the Annual Three Minute Thesis Competition

Heat, or preliminary, competitions for the Three Minute Thesis will be held February 13 between 1:00-5:00pm in 3094 College of Business. Heat schedules will be posted this week on the Three Minute Thesis webpage. Heat competitions are open to the public. Judges will select 8-10 participants to compete in the final competition on February 21, at 5:30pm in the Alumni Center Banquet Room. The final competition also is open to the public.

Volunteer to be a Judge at the K-State GRAD Forum

The Graduate Student Council is calling for faculty and post-doc judge volunteers for the annual K-State Graduate Research, Arts, and Discovery (GRAD) Forum, which will be held March 26 and 27, 2019.  If interested in serving as a judge, please complete a brief online form to express your interest and provide your availability for the day.

Call for Nominations: Timothy R. Donoghue Graduate Scholarships for 2019-2020 academic year

This scholarship program was initiated by Timothy Donoghue, former Graduate School dean, as a way to recruit top candidates throughout the United States to K-State graduate programs by offering graduate assistantship packages that are highly competitive. Donoghue Scholarships enhance the maximum package a graduate program can offer to top candidates, making the total package a partnership between the graduate program and the Graduate School. Funding is available for the 2019-2020 academic year to support a maximum of 10 masters and 20 doctoral applicants. The scholarship is renewable for a second academic year.  Submit nomination form to donoghuescholarship@ksu.edu including a strong and detailed justification for the nomination by February 15, 2019.

Accepting Applications for Sarachek Predoctoral Honors Fellowship and Travel Awards

The Graduate School is accepting applications for the Sarachek Predoctoral Honors Fellowship and Travel Awards in Molecular Biology.  The fellowship provides an award of $17,000 to assist with the recipient’s transition to the next stage of his or her career. Additionally, up to three Sarachek Scientific Travel Awards of $1,000 each may be awarded annually. These awards are intended to recognize exceptional achievement in scholastics and research. Students must show evidence of effective communication of research results through publications in leading journals and presentations at national and international meetings. In order to be eligible, a student must have completed preliminary exams, been admitted to candidacy, and their research must rely significantly on one or more contemporary molecular biological techniques. Additional information and application instructions are available on the Graduate School’s website.  Application deadline: March 1, 2019.

Division of Student Life Graduate Assistant Campus Visit Day

During the Graduate Assistant Visit Day on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, prospective graduate students can visit K-State, interview with Student Life departments/offices that have openings for the 2019-2020 academic year, and meet faculty within their program of interest. If you have students who may be interested in this opportunity, please encourage them to visit the Student Life Graduate Assistantship Opportunities webpage. Students who wish to attend must register for the Campus Visit Day no later than 5:00 pm on March 5, 2019.  

Registration now open for SciComm 2019

The Kansas Science Communication Initiative (KSCI) is excited to host the SciComm 2019 conference in partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Save the date: March 22-24, 2019 in Manhattan! 

Graduate Students 

GSC Professional Development Seminar – Presenting Your Thesis in Three Minutes or Less

February 5, 2:00-3:30 p.m., K-State Student Union Wildcat Chamber
Learning how to summarize your research in just a few minutes in a way that non-expert audiences can understand will help you refocus on the big picture of your work and why it matters.  The ability to communicate the purpose and importance of your research in three minutes can increase your confidence and the impact you have when networking at conferences, giving poster presentations, and when working with researchers from other disciplines.  Your written communication also might improve, which can be beneficial when applying for grants, fellowships, and jobs.  This session will cover basic messaging, answering the “so-what” question, pitfalls to avoid, using storytelling as a strategy for communicating to non-expert audiences, and tips on effective visual communication.  

The Library and Your Research – Managing Citations and References

February 11, 1:30-2:30pm, 1053 College of Business Building
This hands-on workshop introduces the essentials of citation manager tool and will introduce several different tools (possibilities include Zotero and Mendeley). Participants will set up an account and learn some of the common steps to organize citations and create bibliographies. Those who are unable to attend in person may join by Zoom.

GSC-KPA Professional Development Seminar – Grant Writing 101

February 14, 1:00-5:00 pm, K-State Student Union Wildcat Chamber
This training is aimed at informing graduate students, post-docs, and early career faculty about various aspects of the grant writing process. Whether you are new to grant writing, or have some experience, the information presented will be very relevant and valuable for you, including: terminology and the grant writing process, writing the narrative and project summary, developing your budget, and understanding the review criteria and review process.