Travel Grants

Travel grants can be a great way to supplement travel to annual meetings. Please note that any and all funds issued in connection with travel grants will be issued via check.  No wire transfer requests will be granted.  It is suggested that if you need to cash a check on-site and do not have a local bank account or are traveling internationally that you research the available check cashing options available to you.  

The American Crystallographic Association has established a travel fund program for students and young scientists looking for financial assistance to attend the ACA Annual Meeting.  Those interested must apply and be accepted. Funds are to help offset travel and travel-related expenses. Preference will be given to those presenting a paper.

Applicants will need to attach their abstract to their application. They will not be required to register prior to March 31st. When notifying applicants of winning/losing ACA HQ will send winners a code to give them the early rate and/or the 20% they get off of the registration fee (if they have applied to for a travel grant but not won an award).

ACA Travel Grant Application Process

To be eligible for this travel grant program, an individual:

• Must be an ACA member
• Must be able to attend ACA2023 in person
• Be a graduate student, undergraduate student and/or PostDoc 
• Must have submitted an abstract for ACA2023

Information needed to complete a travel grant application:

• Name
• Address
• Email address
• Institution
• Country of residence
• PDF of submitted Abstract with Abstract Number
• Letter of Support from Advisor (can be provided after submission of the travel grant application)
• Personal Statement

The deadline to submit an application is March 15, 2023 and winners will be notified by April 15th via email.  Those that are not awarded a grant will receive 20% off of an in-person registration to ACA2023.

CLOSED: The deadline to submit an application for 2023 is has passed (March 15, 2023).

Past Winners

The following notes were written by the 2015 recipients of travel grants and/or the young researchers selected for the SIG Etter Award Lectures. Many would not have been able to come to the meeting without the financial support provided by ACA members when they generously contribute to the travel award funds:

"I attended the entire meeting and gave an oral presentation in the Important Science from Small Molecule Structures session. One of the best features of the meeting was the diversity of topics in the field of small molecule crystallography. It was truly a great experience going to so many different talks and posters. I enthusiastically endorse the Etter Early Career Symposium because it gives young scientists a chance to present talks. I am currently a member of the American Crystallographic Association (ACA), American Chemical Society (ACS), and Electrochemical Society (ECS). I plan to continue my membership in these organizations and may add others depending on the direction of my research."

-Kamran Ghiassi (ACA RefleXions Winter Edition 2015)

Being not only a first time attendee at a national conference, but also a first year graduate student, I was unsure of what to expect. But I had an amazing experience at the meeting in Philadelphia that left me with the desire to become more involved in the crystallographic community. I was impressed by the welcoming sense of camaraderie at the meeting, as well as by the diversity of the program. After listening to three days’ worth of passionate speakers and poster presenters, I left the conference with both with a renewed sense of excitement for my research as well as countless new ideas and opportunities. For future meetings, however, I would enjoy seeing more events similar to the Bruker YSSIG Mixer, e.g. a young scientist lunch or coffee break, where graduate students could have more chances to meet people and develop their networks. I also felt that there were fewer sessions concerning small molecule/inorganic crystallography in contrast to the more prevalent biochemistry-related talks. In addition to the ACA, I am also a member of the American Chemical Society, and I do plan to continue my membership with both. I am incredibly grateful to the ACA for awarding me a travel grant to attend the meeting and experience the conference, and I look forward to attending next summer’s meeting.

- Allyssa Adcock (ACA RefleXions Winter Edition 2015)

As a recipient of an American Chemical Society 2015 Travel Grant, I had the pleasure of attending the 65th annual ACA meeting in Philadelphia. Since this was my first time participating at any ACA meeting, I didn’t know what to expect, but I hoped it would be an excellent opportunity to meet new people, get advice on my research, and learn a great deal of chemistry. Now that it is over, I realize that it far surpassed my expectations. The chance to attend a Rietveld refinement workshop before the conference, as well as some very engaging discussions at the poster session I was in, helped a lot in my pursuit to learn structure solution from powder diffraction data. All the sessions in the fields of materials chemistry and crystal engineering (my primary interests) were exceptionally well organized, with wonderful speakers, and the Standard Practices in Crystallography sessions on data collection were very educational. Additionally, I got exposed to the intriguing fields of protein crystallography and electron diffraction techniques, which I had never studied in detail, but found to be very interesting. Even the sessions not directly related to crystallography, such as the evening session on diversity and the Communicating Your Science session, were a real treasure trove, offering interesting perspectives about the roles that scientists have which are not strictly related to their own research. Of course, the social side of the conference was not lagging behind; with the opening reception, the YSSIG mixer, the awards banquet, and SIG meetings all serving as opportunities to meet very interesting people. I was especially pleasantly surprised by the strong presence of young scientists in all areas of the meeting, as well as the attention and help offered to us. Everyone in the meeting was extremely nice and welcoming, which is a wonderful thing for a first time attendee! I didn’t know almost anyone prior to coming to the meeting, but left with memories of inspiring people and new friends. That feeling of community, almost family, is maybe the biggest reason why I look forward to coming to the ACA meetings in the future.

-Ivana Brekalo (ACA RefleXions Winter Edition 2015)

To read the entire collection of travel and Etter Award winners reviews of the 2015 ACA Annual Meeting in Pittsburg, visit our RelfleXions archive.  Each year we capture the thoughts and impressions of attending the ACA Annual Meeting from our newest members and attendees.