The Allen Award is named in honour of Professor Diana Allen, a long-standing IAH-CNC member, Robert N. Farvolden Award winner, and IAH-CNC President from 2015 to 2021. Dr. Allen was an encouraging teacher who promoted student and early career engagement in the IAH-CNC and valued student participation at conferences.
The Allen Award is presented each year when the IAH-CNC hosts or participates in a national conference and is intended to promote active participation in the IAH-CNC among hydrogeology students attending Canadian Universities and to recognize excellence in hydrogeology. The award provides an incentive for students to attend the national IAH-CNC conferences and present the results of their studies.
Eligibility Criteria
- Abstracts submitted for consideration for the award must be prepared primarily by the student (as first author) and must deal with, as the primary topic, the student’s university thesis or other university work in Canadian hydrogeology.
- The student must, at the time of the submission of the abstract, be currently registered as a B.Sc., M.Sc. or Ph.D. student at a Canadian University and must provide proof of enrollment.
- Mature students who have returned to university to complete an advanced degree following several years of outside experience, or students who have worked as hydrogeologists for several years and are attending university on a part-time basis are not eligible for the award.
- The student must attend the conference and deliver their presentation.
Submission Procedure
Students who wish their contribution to be considered for the Allen Award should follow the directions set out by the conference organizing committee. Normally students request that their contribution be considered for the Allen Award at the time their abstract is submitted. The student must meet the eligibility criteria above.
Judging
The Vice President of the IAH-CNC will strike a committee consisting of themselves (or designate) as well as two or more additional Canadian hydrogeologists who will be attending the annual conference. This will constitute the Selection Panel that will be charged with setting the criteria used for judging and determining the winner of the award for the year.
The evaluation will be based on the written abstract or full conference paper (20%), poster presentation (50%), and student response to questions and/or discussion about the poster (30%).
Written Component
If a conference requires full papers to be submitted, then award applicants must submit a full paper to be considered for the award and applications without corresponding conference papers will not be evaluated by the committee. If a conference only requires an abstract, then a full paper is not required.
Written material (i.e. abstract or full paper) will be judged on the basis of technical merit, originality of the topic and quality of the writing. The selection panel will evaluate written material (abstract or full paper) prior to the conference, and may identify, on the basis of merit, a short-list for judging of presentations.
Presentation Component
Student presentations will be judged on the basis of the quality of the visual materials and the quality of the poster presentation. Presenters will be asked by the judge(s) to present an overview of the poster. The quality of responses to questions will also be evaluated.
The student receiving the highest combined mark will be judged the award winner. The determination of the panel will be final, and the award will be presented as part of the annual conference if possible. The award will not be presented if the Selection Panel decides that no submissions are of a sufficient quality.
Award
The winning student will receive a cash prize of $750 as well as a certificate from the IAH-CNC. The winning presentation will be highlighted and the abstracts reprinted in the IAH-CNC Newsletter.
Additional Information
For additional information, contact the Vice President of the IAH-CNC.
