Louise “Lu” Pellerin Memorial Scholarship

Overview

The Bay Area Geophysical Society (BAGS) and the Hohmann Wannamaker Trust (HWT) are proud to announce the inaugural 2024 Louise “Lu” Pellerin Memorial Scholarship.  The intent of this scholarship is to promote the advancement of women and woman-identifying students in the field of Geophysics by providing them with financial support and recognition, encouraging them to continue their academic and professional development as a geoscientist through research and networking with others in academia and industry.  To this end, BAGS and HWT will award a scholarship in the amount of $1000 to one or more woman-identifying Geophysics students in California to assist in presenting their research at an academic or scientific conference.

Applications must be received no later than 11:59 pm PST on June 30, 2024, to be considered for this scholarship. All information and transcripts should be submitted via the official application form. If submitting one, a letter of recommendation should be submitted (by the letter writer, not by the applicant) to officers@bayareageophysicalsociety.org and must be received by 11:59pm PST on June 30, 2024. Eligibility details, required documents, and evaluation criteria can be found at the end of this solicitation. Questions can be directed to the above email address.

About Louise

Louise “Lu” Pellerin had a long and productive career in geophysics and was a trailblazer for women in this field. She started her career as part of a geophysical field crew before attending graduate school at the University of Utah, where she was the first woman to earn a PhD from that institution in electromagnetic geophysics. This was followed by several years as a researcher at the U.S. Geological Survey and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Over the last 20 years, she split her time between running her company, Green Geophysics, and serving in numerous roles that advanced awareness and application of near-surface geophysical methods, including helping to organize and run the Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience (SAGE) geophysics field camp.

Louise worked tirelessly through the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, the American Geophysical Union, and other professional societies to help in the sharing and distribution of knowledge and in the education of geophysicists and the users of geophysics. She was passionate about doing all she could to ensure that women not only survived but thrived in the field of applied geophysics. As a Bay Area resident, Louise was instrumental in the resurgence of the Bay Area Geophysical Society, serving as secretary from 2014-2017 and helping to establish BAGS as a non-profit organization in the state of California.  Louise served as a trustee with the Hohmann Wannamaker Trust and counted both Gerald Hohmann and Phil Wannamaker as close colleagues in electromagnetic geophysics. Sadly, Louise passed away on March 23rd, 2023, from pancreatic cancer.

Applicant Eligibility

The Lu Pellerin Memorial Scholarship is open to individuals who:

• identify as a woman,
• are currently enrolled in an accredited university in California as an undergraduate (associate or bachelor’s degree) or graduate (master’s or doctorate) student,
• are studying geophysics,
• and who are in good academic standing (defined as having a GPA of > 2.0 on a 4-point scale).

Membership in the Bay Area Geophysical Society is not required to be eligible for this award.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the eligibility requirements.

Timeline

• Solicitation announcement March 15, 2024
• Application deadline June 30, 2024, 11:59pm PST
• Notification of award recipient August 1, 2024
• Acceptance documents completed; August 2 – Sep 31, 2024
  funds distributed

Award amount

A scholarship in the amount of $1000 per awardee.

Use of scholarship funds

Scholarship funds shall be used to assist the student with participating in and presenting their work at an academic or scientific conference. This may include, for example, conference registration, transportation, or lodging costs.  Upon use of the award funds, the student must provide a brief personal statement (150-word limit) and photo to officers@bayareageophysicalsociety.org about how the funds have been used and how this contributed to their course of study and goals.

Application Instructions

Applicants must submit the following information via the official application form to be considered for this scholarship. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. The application form requires:

• Name and contact information
• Program/department and university name
• Expected graduation date
• An attached unofficial transcript from your current degree program.
• A 300-word statement about yourself and your geophysical interests, activities, and goals. Include why you are choosing to apply for the scholarship, your intended use of the scholarship funds, which conference you intend to attend (if known), the research you intend to present, and what impact you hope your work will have on the geophysics community and beyond.

Optionally, a letter of recommendation from a professional reference (not a relative or friend) may be included in the application.  This letter should be submitted by the letter writer (not the applicant) via email to officers@bayareageophysicalsociety.org. It is the responsibility of the applicant to request a letter to be submitted on their behalf and to ensure that the letter is submitted before the due date. References should be able to speak on the applicant’s academic work and character.

Evaluation Criteria

The Louise Pellerin Memorial Scholarship is a merit-based award. Students at all levels of research experience are encouraged to apply!

Applications will be evaluated by members of the executive committees of the Bay Area Geophysical Society and of the trustees of the Hohmann Wannamaker Trust. Applicants will be graded based on academic achievement and the quality and novelty of their research ideas. If a letter of recommendation is included, its contents will be incorporated into the evaluation.

About the Bay Area Geophysical Society

The Bay Area Geophysical Society (BAGS) was founded in 1962 to promote the science and practice of geophysics in the Bay Area, California. BAGS officers hold and continuously build connections with Universities, National Laboratories, and the US Geological Survey, as well as with various private geophysical contractors, consultants, and companies in the Bay Area. We are a community of geoscientists, providing a forum where local geophysicists can get together, present and/or listen to presentations and share experiences, promoting geophysics and a thriving community.  BAGS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

About the Hohmann Wannamaker Trust

The Hohmann Wannamaker Trust is an active memorial to the work of Gerald W. (Jerry) Hohmann and Phillip (Phil) Wannamaker, both scientists and educators. Originally established as the Gerald W. Hohmann Memorial Trust for Teaching and Research in Electromagnetic Geophysics in November 1992, the Trust raises funds through personal donations and special events that are reinvested into education and training in electrical and electromagnetic geophysics. The Trust supports dedicated projects including undergraduate and graduate scholarships established through a matching fund program with the Society of Exploration Geophysics (SEG) Foundation, a Career Achievement Award established in recognition of outstanding contributions to the profession in the manner of Jerry Hohmann, and an    International Symposium on Three-Dimensional Electromagnetics (3DEM).  The trust was renamed and re-established as the Hohmann Wannamaker Trust after Phil’s death in 2022.