CSSS
Canadian Society of Soil Science – La société canadienne de science du sol
About CSSS
2020 Council Members
Council Job Description
CSSS Fellow Award
CSSS Honorary Membership Award
Soil Science for Society Award
Student Travel Awards
Student Presentation Awards
Student Book Award
CSSS Pedology Travel Award
This is awarded to CSSS members with a distinguished record of accomplishment in Soil Science and service to the Society. The regulations covering the nomination procedure and documentation and evaluation of nominees are given below:
A. Regulations
Nominees must be members in good standing at the time of their nomination and must have been a CSSS member of at least a total of 10 (not necessarily continuous) years.
Up to two CSSS members can be awarded a Fellowship in any year. Persons wishing to nominate someone who was previously unsuccessful as a nominee may do so by submitting new, original nomination documentation.
Each nominee must have one nominator and three supporting sponsors.
Members of CSSS Council and the Awards Committee cannot serve as a nominator or sponsor.
Approval of this award shall be a unanimous decision by the Awards Committee members.
B. Nomination Documentation
(maximum 8 pages, 2-3 cm margins, 12 pt. type)
1. A one page introductory letter submitted by the nominator and three sponsors including:
Name, address, telephone number, email address of the candidate.
Name, address, telephone number, email address of the nominator and three sponsors.
One page summary by nominator outlining achievements of the nominee.
2. Nomination documents must include:
Personal achievements (e.g., degrees, memberships, service to CSSS)
Professional achievement (e.g., research, teaching, service to Soil Science)
Professional publications (number of books, papers, patents, products, etc.)
A list of the 10 most significant publications, products, achievements, etc.
Letters of support are required from all three sponsors and must be included in the 8-page maximum
C. Nomination Evaluation
Nominations are evaluated by the CSSS Awards Committee. A minimum of 60 points is required to consider a nominee for this award. The criteria for evaluating the nomination is (out of 100 points):
Personal achievements (maximum of 20 points)
Professional achievement (maximum of 35 points)
Professional publications – both numbers and impact as indicated by the nominator (maximum of 15 points)
Achievements as shown in sponsors or other letters of support (maximum of 10 points for each of the three letters).
Please send applications by April 5, 2019 to:
Nathan Basiliko
President-Elect, Canadian Society of Soil Science
Chair, CSSS Awards Committee
E-Mail: nbasiliko(at)laurentian.ca [please replace (at) with @ – this is to prevent spam.]
Only the following formats will be accepted: Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF.
This is awarded to non-members who have rendered valuable or special service to soil science. All nominations, which are evaluated by the Awards Committee, must have the following documentation:
One page letter briefly outlining the reasons for the nomination.
A brief résumé (< 3 pages) of the candidate indicating their service to soil science.
One page letter from each of three individuals supporting the nomination.
Approval of this award must be a unanimous decision by the Awards Committee members.
CSSS Soil Science for Society Award
This is awarded to a member or non-member who has made a contribution towards promoting soil science to the general public. The Award winner receives a plaque or certificate recognizing their contribution.
All nominations, which are evaluated by the CSSS Awards Committee, must have the following documentation:
A brief résumé (< 3 pages) of the candidate indicating their contribution(s) to promoting soil science to the public.
CSSS-CJSS Student Travel Awards for International Soil Science Meetings
The Canadian Society of Soil Science (CSSS) and the Canadian Journal of Soil Science (CJSS) are pleased to jointly sponsor two annual awards to provide travel funds for student members of CSSS to attend international soil science meetings.
The Travel Award for International Soil Science Meetings allows student members to broaden the scope of their work and expand their relationships with soil science researchers outside of Canada. This is expected to build capacity and increase the engagement of students studying soil science at Canadian universities in the international soil science milieu.
Award applicants must be registered at a Canadian University or College and a student member of CSSS in good standing at the time of application.
Eligible applications will be those that involve attendance of an international soil science meeting outside of Canada.
An international meeting is defined as an advanced workshop, a conference, a symposium or a congress where the applicant pays a registration fee to attend and has the opportunity to communicate their scientific findings.
Priority is given to applicants who will be the presenting author that attends and communicates their scientific results at the international soil science meeting, such as in the form of a poster, an oral presentation or in a peer-reviewed conference proceedings.
Students attending regular project meetings, participating in training courses, internships and work assignments outside of Canada are not eligible for support.
A student member of CSSS may only receive the award once.
The award amount is not fixed and depends on the total cost of the successful applications: A maximum of $6800 will be awarded to two successful applicants in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Due to the requirements for advanced registration for many meetings, funds may be allocated for an international scientific meeting in the year of application or the following year. If travel to the conference does not occur, the funds are forfeited.
Funds will be awarded to cover costs for registration, travel, accommodation and meals (at the per diem rate of the applicant's institution) and associated fees (e.g., visa, travel insurance). The application should include estimates for each of these categories, but the award will be based on the actual receipts for registration, accommodation and travel (per diem on actual days travelled), and should not exceed the estimation by more than 20%.
Eligible applicants must submit a one-page letter describing the international soil science meeting to be attended, the dates of the meeting, the deadlines for registration, how they will communicate their scientific findings at the meeting and why it is an appropriate venue to engage with the international soil science community. Applicants should also submit a budget estimate, including as much documentation as possible to show the basis for this estimate (e.g. registration fees, accommodation, airfare, etc.).
The applicant's primary supervisor must send a short (one-page) letter in support of the student's application.
Applications should be submitted to the Chair of the Awards Committee for that year, who is the CSSS President Elect.
Application deadline will be in the month of March. If no applications have been received by the deadline, awards will be evaluated in the order that they are received for the remainder of the calendar year.
Awards will be decided by the CSSS Awards Committee, with final approval by the CSSS Council.
Please send a completed application form (MS Word Document) by April 5, 2019 to:
Student Travel to CSSS Annual Meeting
This Award was established in 1991 to encourage student attendance at the CSSS Annual Meeting. Since 2016, student travel to society meetings and conferences has been sponsored in part by the Agricultural Institute of Canada.
The 2020 CSSS Annual Meeting will be held in Charlottetown, PEI from June 21st to the 25th.
Graduate students who are CSSS members are eligible to receive this award. The Student Travel Award is $700 and a maximum of 12 awards are given each year.
Awards are based on the following criteria:
Is the student a member of CSSS? (Students must be CSSS members to apply)
Will the student be presenting an oral paper or poster? (Preference will be given to students who will be giving either an oral or a poster presentation over students who are just planning to attend the conference without giving a presentation).
Is the research summary reasonable (rationale, hypothesis, objective) and clearly written?
Has the student received a previous travel award from CSSS? (Preference will be given to students who have not previously received a travel award).
Has the student informed his/her supervisor or department chair and had their application form signed?
C.F. Bentley Award (Oral Presentations)
This Award was initiated in 1983 to encourage and recognize excellence in oral presentations by students at the CSSS Annual Meetings. It honours Dr. Fred Bentley who was CSSS President in 1956-57 and inducted as a CSSS Fellow in 1973. The Award winner receives $500, the first runner-up $300, and the second runner-up $200. The Evaluation Forms provided to judges indicate the scoring criteria for oral presentations. Students must be CSSS members at time of their presentations at the Annual Meetings.
President's Award (Poster Presentations)
This award was established in 1992 to foster excellence in student poster presentations as a means of disseminating research results at the CSSS Annual Meetings. The President's Award is: $500 for the winner, $300 for the first runner-up and $200 for the second runner-up. The Evaluation Forms provided to judges indicate the scoring criteria for poster presentations. Students must be CSSS members at time of their presentations at the Annual Meetings.
When submitting an abstract for the CSSS Annual Meetings, graduate students should indicate that they wish to be considered for a Student Presentation Award. Students must be CSSS members at time of their presentations at the Annual Meetings. Please note that only one presentation (oral OR poster) per student may be submitted for judging.
The Chair of the Awards Committee (CSSS President-Elect) appoints judges for these awards, provides the judges with evaluation forms and monitors the judging. A Ranking Procedure is available to assist judges in placing award winners.
CSSS Student Book Award
This award recognizes undergraduates at Canadian universities who demonstrate excellence in Soil Science. Award winners receive a copy of Soil Sampling and Methods of Analysis (2nd Edition), published jointly by CSSS and CRC Press in 2007. Candidates are nominated by their academic department.
Canada has a long and rich history of soil classification, soil survey and Pedology. Formal soil surveys, initiated more than 90 years ago, helped characterize the areal extent of our country's most important natural resource. Parts of Canadian system of soil classification have been emulated and adapted in other classification systems, and Canadian pedologists have contributed significantly to the development of these disciplines in other countries). The development of Canadian soil science is underpinned by Pedology and was critical not only for the development of Canada's natural resources, but is now critically needed to meet contemporary societal challenges and actively engage in solving issues. As such, it is important for CSSS members to participate in international meetings and workshops, specifically those related to Pedology, so as to secure our international presence and the future of our expertise in this area of soil science.
Priority will be given to applications for meetings outside of Canada.
Award applicants must be regular (non-student) members in good standing at the time of application.
A maximum of $4000 can be awarded each year.
One or more awards may be funded each year, depending on the number of applications and the total cost of applications.
A CSSS member may only receive the award once.
Due to the requirements for advanced registration for many workshops, funds may be for meetings in the year of application or the following year.
Funds will be awarded to cover costs for registration, travel, accommodation and meals (at the per diem rate of the applicant's institution), to a maximum of $4000. The application should include estimates for each of these categories, but the award will be based on receipts for registration, accommodation and travel (per diem on actual days travelled), and should not exceed the estimation by more than 20%.
Applicants must submit a one-page letter describing the conference/workshop or meeting to be attended, the importance of this meeting to Pedology, the dates of the meeting, and deadlines for registration. Applicants should also submit a budget estimate, including as much documentation as possible to show the basis for this estimate (e.g. registration fees, accommodation, airfare, etc.).
Applications are due by March 1 of each year. However, if no applications have been received by that date, awards will be evaluated in the order that they are received for the remainder of the calendar year.
Awards will be decided by the CSSS Awards Committee, with final approval by the CSSS Executive.
Please send completed applications by April 5, 2019 to:
Canadian Journal of Soil Science
CSSS Publication Assistance Fund
Pedology Committee
Soil Education Committee
Conference Education Sessions
K-12 Soil Science Education
Undergraduate Soil Science Education
Soil Education Resources
Provincial Organizations
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Student travel to society meetings and conferences sponsored in part by the Agri-food Innovation Council (AIC)
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