Announcements

First Call for Nominations: NARST 2019 Early Career Research Award (ECRA)

The NARST Early Career Research Award (ECRA) acknowledges contributions to science education through research by individuals during the seven years immediately following receipt of the doctoral degree. To qualify for the award in 2019, the nominee must have received the doctoral degree on or after January 1, 2011. Research contributions may vary including, but not limited to empirical, philosophical or historical research, evaluative studies, policy-related research, and studies reflecting new research techniques.

This award is given to an individual who over the seven years immediately following receipt of the PhD has established a promising research agenda, published noteworthy work, and has the potential to make significant contributions to science education through research.

All NARST members are encouraged to consider nominating an eligible and deserving early career NARST member. Nominators must be current members of NARST; self-nominations will not be considered. The nomination letter should help the committee understand why the researcher’s scholarly record is deserving of recognition and contextualize the impact of the research in the nominee's institution and/or home country.

Nominations for the award must include the following materials:

1. A letter of nomination which discusses the nominee’s impact on the field;
2. The nominee’s vita;
3. A two-page summary of the nominee’s research interests, prepared by the nominee; and,
4. Three of the nominee’s best papers.
5. In addition, two letters of support should be sent separately. The supporting letters need to discuss the context and significance of the nominee's scholarship in terms of the three criteria, in order that accomplishments on the nominee's vita are understood.

All nomination packages and materials should be sent electronically in PDF format and received by the Committee Chair, Troy D. Sadler (tdsadler@uncg.edu) and co-chair, Christine McDonald (c.mcdonald@griffith.edu.au), no later than November 30, 2018.

View the full ECRA Call for Nominations on the NARST Web site.

The Outstanding Doctoral Research Award (ODRA) is the highest award that NARST bestows on a dissertation judged to have the greatest merit and significance in the field of science education for that year. The ODRA Committee is now soliciting nominations for the 2019 award. Nominators must be current members of NARST. The dissertation must be completed within the 15 months prior to October 1, 2018. Submissions are to be sought from as wide a field of candidates as possible to be inclusive of gender, age, geographical area and ethnicity, as well as research perspectives.

Applications must be received no later than October 1, 2018. Persons wishing to be considered should submit an e-mail with: (1) a ten-page, double-spaced abstract; (2) a five-page abbreviated bibliography; and, (3) a cover sheet, signed by the major advisor/professor/supervisor or chair of the dissertation committee; electronic signatures are acceptable. Alternatively, the dissertation supervisor/director can send an e-mail to the ODRA Selection Committee Chair, endorsing the application and attesting to is accuracy. Nominees who are in a final pool will then provide the full dissertation for review. For complete application instructions, please see the full ODRA announcement on the NARST website.

Materials are due by October 1, 2018. Questions regarding this award should be directed to Dr. Barbara Hug, (bhug@illinois.edu), chair of the ODRA Committee, on behalf of co-chair, David Fortus (david.fortus@weizmann.ac.il), and members: Amy Lark, Jay Fogelman, Sue Dale Tunnicliffe, Phyllis Katz, Pei-Ling Hsu, David Stroupe, Jing-Wen Lin, Shulamit Kapon, Renee’ Schwartz, Patricia Bills, Wendy Frazier, Eunjin Bahng, Ellen Granger, James Ellis, Devasmita Chakraverty and Danielle Ferguson.

• Indicate when the nominee completed his/her doctoral degree (ensuring that it has been 20 years since the award of the degree)
• Speak to the evidence that the nominee has made significant contributions to science education through research, including – but not limited to – empirical, philosophical or historical research, evaluative studies, policy-related research, and/or studies reflecting new research techniques
• Speak to the evidence that the nominee has provided notable leadership in science education through research
• Speak to the evidence that the nominee has had substantial impact on science education through research