Two experiential awards were established in 2014 through the support of private sector companies and with seed funding from the Mathre Education Endowment for the purpose of promoting career and research development experiences outside of academia for current graduate students and post-doctorates. One award of $1000 will be given on an annual basis to an individual graduate student or post-doctorate for funding in support of a short-term experience with a government or private organization to subsidize travel to the host organization. The purpose of this award is to support professional development to learn about career opportunities and/or gain technical expertise in support of current research endeavors. The second award of $4,000 will be given to departments for funding in support of an on-site visit to one or multiple non-academic organizations to subsidize travel. Recipients are selected by a review committee that will evaluate applications based on merit of individual applicants as well as the quality and expected outcome of the proposed experience.
