Overview | Award Definition | Guidelines | Application

Beta chapter of GWIS is proud to support our local chapter members with Ruth Dickie Research Scholarships and Grants-in-Aid for research. The annual seminar competition is a great opportunity to listen to relevant research in other disciplines and earn cash prizes, too!

Annual Ruth Dickie Seminar Competition

Each fall the GWIS Beta chapter hosts a members-only seminar competition awarding cash prizes for first and second place winners. Participants present a 10-15 minute talk describing their current research. The competition is judged by local faculty members who volunteer their time. Participating in the competition is an excellent way to practice presenting your science and hearing the significant and exciting research conducted by fellow GWIS scientists.

Ruth Dickie Research Scholarships and Grants-in-Aid

The Ruth Dickie Research Scholarships and Grants-in-Aid are offered to SDE/GWIS Beta chapter members who are enrolled full-time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the biological, chemical, or natural sciences (physical, environmental, mathematical, computer, life sciences, anthropology, psychology, and statistics), including home economics and engineering. These scholarships are a generous endowment to Beta Chapter by the late Ruth Strathearn Dickie, a lifetime member of SDE/GWIS. Ruth was a Professor Emeritus at UW-Madison, and Director of Food and Nutrition Services for the UW Hospital. She served in nearly all officer positions in Beta Chapter and was SDE/GWIS National President from 1978-1979. The annual recipients of these prestigious awards are chosen through an application process in spring/summer of each year. Female faculty members at UW-Madison volunteer their time to review these applications and choose winners based on a number of criteria. Exact Research Scholarship amounts vary from $1500 to $3000. For the Grants-in-Aid, two $500 awards are disbursed. Recipients are required to present the results of their research at a GWIS meeting to the general membership the following year.

Previous Awardees

2010 Research Scholarship: 
Tina R. Hill – Geoscience
Sagan C. Friant – Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Elizabeth Jane Bradbury – Botany

2010 Grant-in-Aid: 
Tess Killpack – Zoology
Abigail Mazie – Botany

2009 Research Scholarship: 
Barbara Calcagno – Engineering
Claudia Calderon – Horticulture
Ana Wells – Soil Science
Marie Johnston – Soil Science

2008 – Research Scholarship
Maria del Carmen Lopez Garcia – Materials Science
Beth Pfotenhauer - Bacteriology
Carolyn Freiwald - Anthropology

2007 – Research Scholarship
Jennifer Tennessen – Environmental Studies
Sofia Zahed – Animal Behavior and Genetics
Jennifer Schoepke – Human Factors Engineering

2007 – Grants-in-Aid
Alison Carter - Archaeology

2006 – Research Scholarship
Elizabeth Chumanov – Mechanical Engineering
Amanda Farley – Physiology

2006 – Grant-in-Aid
Talline Martins - Genetics

View our checklist here.