When: September 22, 2013
J. Warren Nystrom Award
Deadline: September 22, yearly
A fund established by former AAG Executive Director J. Warren Nystrom supports an annual prize for a paper based upon a recent dissertation in geography. Papers must be presented at the upcoming AAG Annual Meeting.
Eligibility for this competition is restricted to AAG members who have received the PhD degree since April 1, 2010 and who have been members of the AAG for 2010, 2011 and 2012.
The Nystrom Award Review Committee will complete the evaluation process by early October. The Annual Meeting Preliminary Program (usually available in January) will indicate those individuals advancing to the final round of the competition (i.e. presentation at the Annual Meeting). Finalists will be invited to submit their papers for consideration for publication in The Professional Geographer. From the Nystrom competition papers presented at the annual meeting, the Review Committee will recommend from one to two cash awards. The total annual prize awarded is approximately $1,000.
Applications for the J. Warren Nystrom Award competition should be sent no later than September 22 to meeting@aag.org.
Digital submission is required. All submitted papers will be forwarded to the Nystrom Award Review Committee. The committee will select papers to be included in a special Nystrom Award session or sessions at the AAG Annual Meeting. Unless authors indicate otherwise, papers not selected for the final competition will be included in appropriate sessions of the annual meeting program.
The Nystrom Award Review Committee will complete the evaluation process by early October. The AAG Annual Meeting Preliminary Program available in January will indicate those individuals advancing to the final round of the competition (i.e. presentation at the Annual Meeting). Finalists will be invited to submit their papers for consideration for publication in The Professional Geographer.
Format and Guidelines
A complete application consists of the following four items:
- Register for the meeting and submit your abstract online
- The paper in digital format as an Adobe pdf, submitted as a single document with the following parts in this order:
a) An abstract of no more than 250 words
b) The paper text which must not exceed 5,000 words and should be double-spaced
c) Cited references only. References should be cited parenthetically in the text beginning with the author's last name and followed by the year of publication. Citation of two or more publications having the same author appearing in the same year should be distinguished by sequentially lettered dates, (Brown 1943b) for example. The usage "in press" indicates that the work listed has been formally accepted for publication. Provide full titles of books and periodicals. For illustrations of appropriate citations, authors should consult the most recent issue of The Professional Geographer as well as the current edition of Chicago Manual of Style. References should be listed (double-spaced) on a separate sheet immediately after the text and "Notes." Entitle the section "References" and list all references alphabetically by the author's surname and then chronologically.
d) Optional:
Acknowledgements: If necessary, acknowledgements should be placed under a separate center heading, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, at the end of the paper.
Tables and Drawings: You may include essential tables and black and white drawings (such as maps and graphs). If you plan to use slides as part of your presentation, please indicate where you will present them in the left hand margin of the text. Double space all tables and list sources. - You must submit a letter of endorsement from your graduate advisor that verifies the relationship of the paper to your dissertation work.
- By September 22 submit the PDF, Abstract submission confirmation, Your full name, address and a phone where you can be reached at the meeting, and Advisors Endorsement via email to meeting@aag.org with the subject line 2012 AAG Nystrom Competition Application. For the 2012 annual meeting the deadline is September 22.
If your paper is selected, you will be allotted 20 minutes to present and discuss your paper. Whereas the chairs of regular sessions have some discretion as to the organization of their program of papers, the chair of the Nystrom Session will adhere rigidly to the 20 minutes per presentation rule.
Criteria for Review
a) Eligibility requirements b) adherence to format for submission c) originality of ideas and potential contribution to the advancement of knowledge in particular subfields of the discipline d) clarity and effectiveness of written style e) quality and effectiveness of oral presentation at the AAG Annual Meeting special session.
Committee Recommendations
From the Nystrom competition papers presented at the annual meeting, the Review Committee will recommend from one to two cash awards, totaling approximately $1,000.
John Warren Nystrom was a graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Mass., where he received his Doctor of Philosophy in Geography in 1942. Warren was an exceptional educator and professor of geography for many years at Rhode Island College, University of Pittsburgh, George Washington University, and Florida Atlantic University. Beyond academia, Dr. Nystrom had a long and productive career in international relations as a senior official in the Foreign Policy Department at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a partner in the international relations consulting firm of Allen, Murden and Nystrom, a Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution. He also represented the United States at UNESCO, the United Nations’ educational, scientific, and cultural organization. Nystrom was Executive Director of the Association of American Geographers from 1966-1979. He received AAG Honors and published a number of geography textbooks and periodicals on U.S. relations with the European Community, Canada and Latin America.
