Ruska Award Guidelines & Instructions

1. Applicants must be or have been an undergraduate or graduate student during the Academic year of the meeting and should have less than five years experience in microscopy.
2. Each applicant must be sponsored and validated by a signed statement from a non-student SEMS member verifying item #1.
3. The work must consist of original research authored by the participant but may be co-authored by his/her advisor. It is highly recommended that advisors consult with their students regularly on their project. The written portion (not to exceed two pages single-spaced including references) should also contain a research summary. Additional pages may be used for micrographs and legends. The MSA Presidential Award format may be used.
4. Six copies of the summary should be submitted to the RUSKA Award Chairman including original figures (tables, graphs, and micrographs) which will be shown during the oral presentation. The summary should include the following:

    a) title
    b) author and affiliation
    c) sponsor
    d) summary of research- include a brief introduction, brief methods and materials, results, and a brief discussion
    e) figures and legends

5. An abstract clearly labeled RUSKA AWARD PARTICIPANT should be submitted to the Program Chairman for publication with the meeting proceedings.

Methods of Evaluation
The research summary and oral presentation will be evaluated by the RUSKA Committee using the criteria outlined below:
I. Submitted Text
A. Scientific Merit

    1. Soundness of research proposal
    2. Experimental design and thoroughness of investigation
    3. Validation of conclusions
    4. Application of EM as a tool in answering an experimental question

B. Quality of micrographs:

    1. Presentation of the specimen (fixation, staining . . . etc)
    2. Instrumentation
    3. Photographic quality (neatness, density, contrast)

C. Quality of writing:

    1. Organization
    2. Clarity
    3. Grammatical correctness

II. Oral Presentation
A. Clarity and Organization
B. Communication Skills
C. Quality of Slides
D. Response to Audience Questions
E. Observance of presentation time limits

III. Originality and the use of correlated techniques are encouraged.

Donate to SEMS

Please let us know where you would like your donation directed: Corporate Mixer, General Fund, or Sponsored Speaker.