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Western Regional Aquaculture Center (WRAC)
Call for Applications – Due April 22, 2022

Conference Travel Awards for 2022 National Aquaculture Extension Conference

The National Aquaculture Extension Conference (NAEC) has been held at approximately five-year intervals since 1992. The overarching goal of the conference is to provide a forum for professional development and networking for those involved in aquaculture extension education and outreach. The last-in-person conference was held in Boise, Idaho, hosted by the Western Regional Aquaculture Center (WRAC) and co-chaired by Gary Fornshell and Forrest Wynne. A shorter virtual conference was conducted in June 2021.

The 2022 National Aquaculture Extension Conference (NAEC) will be held on June 13 -17 in Portland, Maine. This year’s conference is co-sponsored by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) five Regional Aquaculture Centers and the NOAA National Sea Grant Program.

WRAC has been awarded funds from USDA-NIFA to support the attendance of individuals at the 2022 NAEC. The funds are to be awarded to applicants whose professional duties include extension and outreach in support of commercial aquaculture in the twelve-state region of AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, and WA.

Conference Travel Awards will reimburse awardees for conference registration, domestic travel from the location of your home institution to the conference (ground transportation and flights), and accommodation and daily meal per diem according to the University of Washington’s travel policies.

Eligibility: Applications are invited from WRAC’s 12-state region. Membership on a WRAC committee is not a requirement. Applicants are expected to be actively involved in the NAEC (e.g., platform or poster presentations, or organizing/leading conference sessions or workshops). WRAC’s Board of Directors will evaluate applications. Applicants will be informed of the Board’s decisions soon after close of applications. (Note that the conference organizers have announced a deadline of April 15th, 2022 for submission of abstracts.)

Applications should include (12-point font) and received by April 22, 2022:

1. Name, position, and contact details
2. Justification of the request (250 words maximum): Explain how your attendance will benefit the western region’s commercial aquaculture industry.  Although you may not have confirmation yet, how do you plan to be involved in the NAEC (e.g., poster, presentation or workshop title)?
3. Budget (approximate): costs of ground transportation, flights, conference registration, accommodation plus number of days per diem. Applicants are expected to use the cheapest airfares available. The conference organizers estimate $125 registration and approximately $200/night at the conference hotel.
4. Budget justification (breakdown, why are other funds not available?)
5. Curriculum vitae (maximum of two single-spaced pages)
6. Submission to WRAC: By email to Julie Hahn (jkhahn@uw.edu), by Friday, April 22, 2022.

Inquiries can be directed to WRAC Program Manager, Julie Hahn, or Executive Director (grahamy@uw.edu).