Foundation Graduate Student Research Competition

To enter the competition, you must select the “Graduate Student Competition” option as your second section preference when submitting your abstract.

Previous winners of this award are not eligible to compete.

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All students participating in the Foundation Graduate Student Research Competition must upload a PDF of their poster in the abstract system by December 2, 2025. Participants who do not submit a PDF of their poster will be withdrawn from the competition.

Travel grants of $1,000 each will be awarded to the six finalists for their travel to and from the IETS Annual Conference. A first-place winner and two runners-up will be awarded a cash prize (US$600 and US$400, respectively) and inscribed plaques.

The experimental data presented in the abstract must be original and must have been gathered during the student’s program. The individual entering the competition must have been a graduate student at some point during the calendar year immediately prior to the annual conference for that competition. An individual student will be allowed to enter only one abstract per year, and that student must be the first author of that abstract. If an abstract is selected as a finalist, the student entering the competition with that abstract (the first author) shall present the poster at the annual conference.

The format must conform to the IETS guidelines for Preparation of Abstracts for Poster Presentations. Data presented in this abstract may not have been accepted for publication elsewhere, nor presented at any national or international meeting prior to the IETS Annual Conference.

If a student has submitted a manuscript containing the same data that are the basis for the abstract submitted to the IETS and receives notification that the manuscript will be published before the time of the competition, the abstract submitted to the IETS must be withdrawn immediately, and the student will not be eligible to compete at the IETS Annual Conference.

All students participating in the Foundation Graduate Student Research Competition must submit a PDF of their poster to the abstract system by December 2, 2025. Participants who do not submit a PDF of their poster will be withdrawn from the competition.  

Entries are judged on the quality of the abstract, and no more than six will be chosen for further competition. These six finalists will receive complimentary registration to the annual meeting where they will present their work in poster and oral format.

At the IETS Annual Conference, the student finalists will be judged on the quality of their poster presentation and on their oral presentation (10 minutes + 5 minutes for questions). Judges will be representative IETS members appointed to the Education Committee of the IETS Foundation who have no conflicts of interest with respect to students in the competition.

Student Research Competition abstracts that are rejected by the program co-chairs must be withdrawn from the competition. However, apart from acceptability of the abstract, the Education Committee of the IETS Foundation makes all decisions regarding the Student Research Competition. Students whose abstracts are not among the six selected for oral presentation are encouraged to attend the conference and present their data in the poster session or to send their posters with a representative who will make the presentation. If students do not intend to do so, they must withdraw their abstracts from the proceedings before August 22, 2025. 

Abstract (40 Points Possible)

Originality (13)
     Creativity of idea (6)
     Scope of idea (7)
Introduction (5)
     Statement of problem (3)
     Purpose of research (2)
Methods (12)
     Experimental design (4)
     Description of procedures (4)
     Data analysis (4)
Results and discussion (10)
     Presentation of results (5)
     Conclusion supported by data (5)

Oral presentation (35 Points Possible)

Delivery (5)
Presentation format (10)
     Introduction (2)
     Materials and methods (3)
     Results and discussion (3)
     Summary (2)
Visual aids (7)
     Legibility (3)
     Content (4)
Knowledge of subject matter (8)
     Literature (1)
     Experimental methods (3)
     Interpretation of data (4)
Response to questions (5)

Poster (25 Points Possible)

The Board of Governors of the IETS makes a specific point that materials should be low in cost.

Legibility and layout (5)
Introduction (3)
     Purpose of research
Materials and methods (6)
     Experimental design (2)
     Description of treatments (2)
     Statistical methods (2)
Results and discussion (8)
     Presentation of results (2)
     Explanation of tables/figures (2)
     Conclusions supported by data (4)
Summary/questioning (3)