Fall 2026 Research & Travel Awards

  • By: ewalton

Research & Travel Awards

We are excited to announce a funding opportunity for all BU URBAN Trainees that supports research or participation in conferences, meetings, or symposia (referred to hereafter as “conferences”), and other professional development opportunities. All trainees are encouraged to apply. All applications will be considered, but in a competitive field, proposals with the strongest convergence of biogeoscience and environmental health in urban systems will be prioritized. If all else is equal, trainees who participate regularly in program activities and those who have not received URBAN funding in the past will be given preference.

Research Awards are made in support of research with implications for both Biogeoscience and Environmental Health in urban systems. We encourage proposals for up to $1,000 to pilot new projects or expand the scope of existing projects outside your primary discipline. Preference will be given to proposals that have a connection to both Biogeoscience and Environmental Health and that indicate how the project could support future convergent research.

Travel Awards are made in support of participation in conferences, internships, or other professional development opportunities. For conference participation, Travel Awards can be used to either (a) present trainee research; or (b) gain exposure to a field outside the trainee’s primary discipline (Biogeoscience, Environmental Health, Statistics, and Data Science). Trainees are not required to present to obtain funding for this latter award. In all cases, opportunities that span both biogeoscience and environmental health will be rated highly. We will likely fund up to $1,000 for Travel Awards.

 

The application deadline is Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at 5 pm.  Please send your proposal, budget, and CV as one PDF to the Program Manager (URBAN@bu.edu) with “URBAN Trainee Award Fall 2026” as the subject of your email.

 

Required Format for Proposal, Budget, and CV

Please read and follow the instructions below carefully. Applications that do not follow the requirements below will not be considered.

File Name Format:

Your proposal, budget, CV, and all accompanying files (e.g., conference abstract) should be sent together as one PDF. Please use this file name format: “2026-Fall-Application-LastName.pdf” (e.g., 2026-Fall-Application-Templer.pdf)

Proposal:

  • Proposals should be single space in 12-point Times font.
  • Page limits: Travel proposals are limited to one page. Research proposals are limited to two pages. Page limit includes References Cited.
  • Please include the following in all proposals:
    • A title with your name(s) below it
    • Type of proposal:
      • Research, or
      • Conference with presentation, or
      • Conference without presentation, or
      • Other professional development travel

For Research Proposals:

  • Provide a background for your study and describe the novelty and importance of the proposed research and how it has implications for both Urban Biogeoscience and Environmental Health. Be specific about your experimental and/or study design and be sure to explicitly include any testable hypotheses and/or objectives.
  • Trainees may request funds to pay for Research Assistant (RA) time (hourly rate of $15-20+ depending on the level of skills/experience required). If budgeting funds for an RA, be sure to justify the expense, rate, and hours needed. Note: Proposals will be ranked more highly if they include requests for funds that support trainees directly, rather than paying the cost of hiring someone else.
  • Proposals with greater detail about their background, novelty, importance, and how they actively expand your work across disciplines will be rated more highly.

 Proposals for Conference Participation in which you will present:

  • Include the conference name, date, location, and website, as well as the session that you have submitted an abstract or will submit an abstract to.
  • Provide a background for your study and describe the novelty and importance of the work you will present at a conference and how it advances the fields of both urban biogeoscience and environmental health.
  • Explain how the experience will strengthen your interdisciplinary training and/or career goals.
  • Please include a copy of your submitted abstract as an additional page. If you have not yet submitted your abstract, please include your draft abstract instead.

Proposals for Conference Participation where you will not present:

  • Include the conference name, date, location, and website.
  • Explain how the experience will strengthen your interdisciplinary training and/or career goals, particularly with respect to both urban biogeoscience and environmental health.

Proposals for Internship Travel or other Travel Expenses:

  • Describe the proposed use of the URBAN Travel Award and how it relates to the mission and vision of the URBAN program.
  • Explain how the experience will strengthen your interdisciplinary training and/or career goals, particularly with respect to both urban biogeoscience and environmental health.

Budget (required for all proposals):

  • On a separate page, include a budget table that clearly provides the details of all of your expenses, how much you are requesting from BU URBAN, and how other funds will be obtained, if applicable. Be sure to indicate in your budget when you expect to spend the funds, if awarded. Please include all costs in case we have additional funds available, even if they exceed the values named above.
  • For research applications: Include specific information about all budget items, including manufacturer’s name, model number, etc. We recommend including the following budget categories, as applicable: personnel (RA time), supplies, fees and services (e.g., transcription services), travel costs, and training costs.  Provide the date by which you expect to spend awarded funds.
  • For travel applications: We recommend including the following budget categories, as applicable: registration or abstract fees, ground or air travel, lodging, and food. Per NSF restrictions, BU URBAN cannot pay for membership to professional societies. 

CV (required for all proposals):

  • There are no page limits or formatting requirements for your CV.
  • For collaborative proposals, include CVs of all trainees involved.

 

 

Feedback Opportunities:

  • Trainees are encouraged to seek editorial input from peers and their advisor prior to applying.
  • Trainees are also welcome to discuss ideas with the Program Manager (URBAN@bu.edu) in person, over the phone, or over Zoom up to 24 hours before the application deadline. Schedule a meeting here.
  • In addition, we will dedicate two virtual office hours to answering trainee questions about Research & Travel Awards (Monday, September 28, 3:00-4:00pm (link to join); Thursday, October 1, 11:00am-12:00pm (link to join)). Please email URBAN@bu.edu if you plan to attend an office hour.

A faculty committee will evaluate the proposals according to the criteria below and we will announce award decisions several weeks from the deadline.

 

Research Awards will be evaluated based on the following:

  1. Interdisciplinary: implications for both biogeoscience and environmental health
  2. Urban-focused: relevant for urban systems
  3. Novel and important: must be convincing
  4. Financially sound: effectively conveys how funding will achieve the goals of the proposal
  5. CV is complete and professional

 

Travel Awards will be evaluated based on the following:

  1. Interdisciplinary: implications for both biogeoscience and environmental health; the experience strengthens interdisciplinary training and/or career goals
  2. Urban-focused: relevant for urban systems
  3. Demonstrates need to travel
  4. Financially sound: conveys effectively how funding will achieve the goals of the proposal
  5. CV is complete and professional

 

Final notes:

  • Awarded funds are intended for the projects described in your application. If research or travel plans change from the initial application, please email the Program Manager with a request for a re-purposing of funds along with a justification. If it is deemed that the re-purposing of funds remains aligned with the original application, your request will be approved.
  • For all award types, funds must be spent by January 2027.
  • For Travel Awards, reimbursements must be submitted within one month after the dates of your meeting. Note that trainees can apply for funds to participate in only one conference in each call for proposals.
  • For reference, BU URBAN offers two cycles of Research and Travel Awards each year: fall (October deadline) and spring (February deadline).

 

Please reach out to the Program Manager (URBAN@bu.edu) if you have any questions.

 

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