Nominations are open for the SGS Minerals Services 2008 AAG Student Paper Competition

Deadline for submissions: December 31st, 2008

Introduction

A prize for the best paper published by a student is awarded by the Association of Applied Geochemists every two years. The intent of the prize is to encourage prompt publishing of quality research by students in the field of exploration geochemistry or environmental geochemistry related to mining activities. The winner is determined by an international panel consisting of a chairman and three judges, drawn from our profession but reflecting the perspectives of academia, government and industry. Criteria include excellence and originality in research design, research execution, interpretation, presentation of the science and its practical application to exploration geochemistry. Honours, MSc and PhD students are encouraged to publish their research results and enter this competition. There is no limit to the number of papers that may be submitted for an individual student.

The Prize

The prize consists of:

1. From SGS Minerals Services a cash prize of $1000 CAD.
2. From the Association of Applied Geochemists a 2-year membership of the Association, including the AAG's journal (GEEA) and EXPLORE, a certificate of recognition and $500 US towards expenses in attending an AAG-sponsored meeting where the award will be presented.

Recent winners have been:

• 1992 Stephen J. Cook; Distribution and behaviour of platinum in soils, sediments and waters of the Tulameen Ultramafic Complex, southern British Colombia.
• 1994 Trevor Boyd; Trace element patterns in Fe-Si-Mn oxyhydroxides at three hydrothermally active seafloor regions.
• 1996 Tracy Delaney; Size distribution of gold in some soils associated with selected gold mineralization in Canada and the United States of America.
• 1998 Matthew Leybourne; Hydrogeochemical, isotopic, and rare earth element evidence for contrasting water-rock interactions at two undisturbed Zn-Pb massive sulphide deposits, Bathurst Mining Camp, N.B., Canada.
• 2000 Kathryn A. Laurus Feliks.; Gold distribution in glacial sediments and soils at Boston Property, Nunavut, Canada.
• 2002 Paul A. Polito; A light hydrocarbon soil-gas anomaly above the Junction orogenic gold deposit: an alternative exploration technique.
• 2005 Nigel W. Brand; Weathering, element distribution and geochemical dispersion at Mt Keith, Western Australia: implication for nickel sulphide exploration.

Will next year's winner be YOU?

Rules

1. The paper must substantially address an aspect of exploration geochemistry or environmental geochemistry related to mineral exploration;
2. The paper must represent research performed as a student;
3. The student must be the principal researcher, as attested to by the student's supervisor, head of department/school or a senior scientist who is very familiar with the student's work;
4. The paper must have been published in Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, either during the course of the degree program that generated the research or within five years of the award of the degree. Final acceptance dates by the journal are acceptable in lieu of publication dates if adequately proven;
5. A nomination may be made by anyone, apart from the student, and preferably by a senior scientist familiar with the work of the student. Nominations must be accompanied by four copies of the paper (hard or digital);
6. Papers may be resubmitted if they are not awarded the prize in the original submission.
7. The decision of the Student Paper Prize Committee is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Nomination Guidelines

1. This prize is essentially to promote (i) exploration geochemistry or (ii) environmental geochemistry related to mining activities or (iii) environmental geochemistry research that may be directly applied to exploration geochemistry. If the relevance of the research to these areas is not obvious, an explanation should be provided by the nominator(s).
2. The student must be first author. For papers with more than one author, the entry must be accompanied by a statement from the student's supervisor or another author on the paper indicating the student's level of involvement in the planning, execution, interpretation of the research and writing of the paper.
3. Independent and, preferably, international refereeing of the journal in which the paper is published is essential. Unpublished theses, internal publications or reports, or papers in non-refereed or unrecognised journals (eg. not listed in Science Citation Index or equivalent) will not normally be accepted.
4. The date when the paper was finally accepted for publication may be accepted in lieu of the actual publication date providing this is properly documented. Papers that have not been accepted for publications will not be considered.
5. If original or digital copies of the paper cannot be provided, high quality photocopies are acceptable.
6. Nominators should obtain a copy of the Rules and Nomination Guidelines from the Chair of the AAG Student Paper Competition or copy it from this Web Page. The nomination should clearly state the degree program for which the research was done and its commencement and completion dates. If the degree program is still underway, this should be made clear. A brief statement from the nominator as to why this nomination is being made should follow.

Entry

The closing date for entries for this cycle is 31st December 2008, when the letter of nomination, four copies of the paper and any necessary supporting documentation must have been received by the Chairman of the Student Paper Prize Committee (see below). Late entries or entries incomplete after the closing date may be held over until the 2010 round. The results of the 2008 round will be announced at the 24th IAGS.

Send all correspondence and entries to:

David Cohen
Chair of Student Prize Committee
School of BEES
University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
Phone: 61 2 9385 8084
Fax: 61 2 9385 1558
Email: d.cohen@unsw.edu.au

Download: AAGStudentPaperCompetition.doc