Award Announcement
The Edward C. Raney Fund Award is presented annually in honor of Edward C. Raney (1909–1984). Raney was a leader among ichthyologists. He possessed a broad knowledge of the fishes of the world; his particular area of expertise was the fishes of the eastern United States. A member of the faculty at Cornell University, Dr. Raney authored over 75 papers dealing with the systematics, behavior, and ecology of fishes. He was an expert on aquatic environmental problems and served on numerous environmental advisory committees. He was a member of over 30 professional societies, and he served as secretary (1948–1951) and president (1955–1956) of ASIH. The students of Ed Raney are among the leaders in ichthyology today in no small part because of his mentorship and enthusiasm in the study of fishes.
Applications are solicited for grants to be awarded from the Raney Fund for Ichthyology. These funds are used to provide support for young ichthyologists for museums or laboratory study, travel, fieldwork, or any other activity that will effectively enhance their professional careers and their contributions to the science of ichthyology.
Applicants must be members of ASIH and should be enrolled for an advanced degree. Applicants who do not meet these basic requirements may be considered for the award under exceptional circumstances if their careers are judged to be in a developmental stage. Individual awards are typically in the $400–1000 range and will be awarded on basis of both merit and need.
Applications for the Raney Award and a letter of recommendation should be e-mailed (not mailed) to Dr. Brad Erisman (berisman@utexas.edu). The application should consist of no more than two single-spaced pages and must include the following:
- Name, address, e-mail address, and telephone numbers of the applicant;
- Institutional affiliation;
- Academic degree being sought and the year of its expected completion, or highest degree and its date of award;
- Name of the applicant’s current or most recent major professor;
- Title of the proposed research;
- Justification for the research;
- Concise description of research objectives and methods;
- Sources of partial support for the research and pending applications for support from other funds;
- Budget outline;
- Short statement of the way in which the award would be used.
A Literature Cited section should be appended and is not included in the two-page limit. Budget items should be listed as nearly as possible in order of priority. Applicants should attempt to keep the budget within the amount of available funds. In case the award must be less than the requested budget, the impact of eliminating part or all of any items should be clearly given.
The letter of recommendation from the applicant’s current major professor should include statements concerning:
- The competence of the applicant;
- The significance of the applicant’s research;
- The desirability of and need for the funds.
The applicant should request that the letter be sent directly to the Raney Award Committee Chair. The application and letter of recommendation should reach the Committee chair no later than 1 March of the year of the award. Incomplete applications or lack of ASIH dues payment by this date disqualifies the application.
Students will be notified of the status of their application by 1 May of the year of the award, and the award checks will be issued by the Treasurer. The certificates will be presented during the Annual Business Meeting & Student Award Ceremony of the Annual Meeting of the ASIH.