REI Student Travel Award

REI Student Travel Award

The Rutgers Energy Institute (REI) Travel Award, offered annually, has been developed with the goal of enhancing the scholarship and success of our students and to provide richer and broader exposure to the topics and challenges in energy. Travel awards, open to both undergraduate and graduate students, are given in recognition of good scholarship for those seeking to enter the clean energy /environmental field. Students in any discipline related to energy are eligible including physical sciences, engineering, economics, social sciences, and policy.

Quick facts:

  • To offset the cost of travel and meeting attendance, travel awards are awarded to eligible students in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), School of Arts & Sciences (SAS), School of Engineering (SOE), Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy (BSPPP), and Rutgers Business School (RBS).
  • Open to Undergraduate and Graduate Students.
  • Applications may be submitted once in the spring and once in the fall semester. However, a student may only receive one award in any 12-month period.
  • Eligible expenses include meeting registration, lodging, meals, and transportation.  

The funds are primarily intended for the following activities:

  1. Presentation of papers at scientific meetings.

In order to be eligible for scientific meeting funding, a formal abstract acknowledging Rutgers Energy Institute as a research funder must be submitted and accepted by the conference organizers. The research must be part of the approved dissertation proposal or capstone/research project. Graduate and undergraduate applicants are required to present a poster or paper at a meeting. Projects involving multiple faculty advisors, with expertise spanning both scientific/engineering and societal/policy aspects, will be encouraged.

  1.  Research related activities such as spending a brief period in another lab to learn a new technique or a research internship.
  1.  Career and training activities such as an internship to learn career skills.

To apply for the REI undergraduate or graduate student travel award, please send the following materials as one single pdf package.  Please use the following email subject line: REI Travel Award: [Your Name].

  1. A cover sheet listing your full name, email address, current and undergraduate institutions, academic discipline(s), faculty advisor(s), the name of the meeting/research or career related activity, start and end dates and location must be submitted.
  2. A current CV for graduate students, optional for undergraduates
  3. An essay describing your interest in the field of energy and how the proposed activities are critical to your education (500 words maximum)
  4. A letter of support from your faculty advisor
  5. An itemized budget
  6. Identification of any prior REI travel support
  7. Corresponding proof of acceptance by organization or host. Submitted abstract must be included.

Please consider making a donation to the REI Student Support Fund by clicking here to help our students improve their communication skills and develop scholarly collaborations to enhance their education. 

Application Deadlines

Students are eligible for one travel grant per academic year, based on the availability of funding.

For travel and related expenses that will occur between January 1 and June 30, applications are due by November 1.

For travel and related expenses that will occur between July 1 and December 31, applications are due by May 1.

By submitting an application, the student acknowledges that if awarded, upon completion of the supported travel, the student will submit a brief report to REI. The report is to include a description of the experience/activities, photographs, and the benefits to the student's scholarship.