Student Information

(UPDATED: 9/14/2023)

ERNEST K. SMITH USNC-URSI STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION

Prizes will be awarded to three student papers. Awards will be made for:

• First Prize in the amount of $1000

• Second Prize in the amount of $750

• Third Prize in the amount of $500.

The deadline for submission is the same as the regular submission deadline. Please refer to the SUBMISSIONS tab above for additional information, or contact the Student Paper Chair, Prof. Erdem Topsakal, Dept. of ECE, Virginia Commonwealth University, etopsakal@vcu.edu.

All student papers will be presented during one of the technical sessions. In addition, the student finalists will present their talks during a special plenary session. The awards will be presented during the conference.

Rules and guidelines for paper preparation

• Students entering the Ernest K. Smith USNC-URSI Student Paper Competition must submit the following:

  • (1.) A two-column, two-page summary paper.

  • (2.) To permit a double-blind review process, a separate, identical version of the two-page summary, but with all identifying author information removed (names, affiliations, funding sources, acknowledgements, and identifying attributes in the PDF file, which is available by selecting “Properties . . .” in the File menu in Acrobat Reader).

• These documents must be submitted on the abstract/summary submission website no later than the deadline for all conference submissions.

• To submit these documents, check the box "I wish to enter this submission into the Student Paper Competition" during the submission process.

• The student’s primary advisor must respond to an email that will be sent to the advisor’s educational institution address after the paper is submitted. The response will certify that the student meets the conditions of the student paper competition and that all coauthors’ contributions to the paper are primarily advisory or editorial. Response to the advisor attestation must be received by Sept. 16, 2023 (23h 59m UTC-12 hours). If a response is not received by the attestation deadline, the paper will not be eligible for the SPC but will be eligible for the conference. Students are encouraged to notify their advisors in advance so that replies are received prior to the attestation deadline.

• The topic of the paper must be related to one or more of URSI's 10 Commissions. Students must indicate to which URSI Commission or Commissions (maximum of two) the topic of their paper is most relevant.

• The paper must be in English and formatted using the template provided for regular two-page summaries submitted to the NRSM. (Refer to SUBMISSIONS page for two-page summary template.)

• Full-time university students in normal pursuit of a B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. degree are eligible to enter a paper in the competition. The student must be enrolled in a U.S. college or university.

• Each student may submit only one two-page summary to the student paper competition. A student may submit other papers to the conference, but only one can be entered into the student paper competition.

• The finalists in the USNC-URSI Student Paper Competition must present their papers in both the regular session and during final Student Paper Competition session of the conference.

• The SPC paper submissions and the finalists’ oral presentations will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Quality (e.g. clarity, organization, style, etc.)

  • Description of the research relative to previous work

  • Potential impact

  • Verification and/or validation of reported results (to the extent that is possible)

  • (Only for the finalists’ oral presentations) Ability to clearly and thoroughly answer questions

Questions regarding the competition should be addressed to Prof. Erdem Topsakal, Dept. of ECE, Virginia Commonwealth University, etopsakal@vcu.edu.

Student Support

USNC-URSI is pleased to announce that there will be a limited number of awards to qualifying students to help defray the costs of attending the 2024 National Radio Science Meeting. Awards will consist of free student registration and possibly partial support for travel costs for those who attend this meeting in person. The awards will be dispersed contingent on the availability of funding in the awards program. To be eligible for the free registration, students are required to apply via the conference website. Students must be a full-time (graduate or undergraduate) student at a US university as well as the first author and presenter of a paper accepted for presentation at the 2024 National Radio Science Meeting to be held in Boulder, Colorado.

The deadline to apply for the student support is Wednesday, November 15, 2023.  Click here for the Student Support Application.  Once you apply, please do not register for the conference until you are notified about receiving the award. We anticipate making the award decisions no later than Wednesday, November 22, 2023.