ICMGP 2022 - Emerging Researcher Award in Mercury as a Global Pollutant

The Executive Committee of the 15th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP 2022) to be held in July 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa is now accepting nominations for its Emerging Researcher Award in Mercury as a Global Pollutant. Recognizing and celebrating important contributions of a person in the emerging stages of their career is an important role of the ICGMP; the upcoming conference in South Africa offers the inaugural presentation of this award. This award is envisaged to continue to recognise emerging researchers in mercury at future ICMGPs.

In keeping with the tradition of prior conferences, the recipient of the first Emerging Researcher Award in Mercury as a Global Pollutant will be announced and celebrated at the 15th ICMGP in Cape Town, South Africa in July 2022. The awardee shall have the opportunity to make a short presentation at the Opening Ceremony, to advertise their work with a full presentation to be made later during an identified Oral Session at the 15th ICMGP. The awardee shall also receive a commemorative token in honour of the award, as a keepsake. The conference organizers shall further provide complimentary registration to the awardee.

The award is open to all interested delegates who meet the criteria below. The Selection Committee for this award shall accept self-nominations and nominations made by others. All nominees are expected to have made contributions to global mercury impact, in addition to local or regional work. All nominations must follow the formatting and length requirements outlined below, failing which, such nominations will not be considered by the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee shall be headed by two Co-chairpersons and shall comprise of five individuals as described below (excluding all nominees and nominators). The winner shall be announced at least two months prior to the conference.

Nominations packages shall be e-mailed to the 15th ICMGP Co-Chairpersons of the Selection Committee no later than 08 AUGUST 2021; see details below.

Information to be submitted in the Nomination Package includes:

Information regarding the award and the nomination:

1. Who is classified as an emerging researcher?

• A self-nominated or nominated candidate (the nominee) will be within 10 years of granting of a PhD or equivalent experience in research, policy or technological development, or advocacy within the mercury community. The nominee is a person who has made an impactful contribution to mercury research. Members from academia, government and non-government organizations, and industry are welcome to apply.
• The nominee shall have significantly contributed to the study of mercury as a global pollutant.
• The nominee’s work may be of local, regional, or global scale, but must have global impact.

2. Requirements to submit an application:

• Both self-nominated and nominations by others are welcome.
• The nomination package shall include:

1. i. A CV that best reflects their contribution to the Hg community and is structured based on the nominee’s discipline.
2. ii. Two letters of reference, accompanied by a brief biography of each referees submitting letters.
3. iii. A maximum 1000-word summary, including a statement of evidence of the global impact of the nominee’s work and a vision the nominee has for the future of the mercury community.

• This award shall not be posthumous.

3. Composition of Selection Committee:

• The Selection Committee shall consist of five members from academia, government and non-government organizations, and industry.
• The Executive Committee shall identify and appoint two Co-chairpersons (taking gender into account).
• The Co-chairpersons shall assemble the Selection Committee, taking particular note that the Selection Committee:

1. i. reflects the ethno-cultural-diversity of the community working on Hg issues;
2. ii. shall take into account redress (gender, race);
3. iii. is representative of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere;
4. iv. shall have at least one member of the Executive Committee of the ICMGP conference that is to take place after this conference; and
5. v. shall never be composed of one group of members from the Hg community, i.e. the Selection Committee shall not consist solely of members from academia or any other group.

4.  Selection Process:

• The Executive Committee shall be responsible for providing details on the timeline of the final award process, while allowing sufficient time for the awardee to arrange for travel to the conference.
• Prior the beginning of the selection process, it is the duty of the Selection Committee to ensure that the pool of nominees reflect the diversity of the mercury community. If it is not, the Selection Committee must encourage recruitment of nominees in consultation with the Executive Committee. The timeline must allow for contingency timeframes to recruit a diverse pool of nominees, in such instances where the pool of nominees do not reflect the diversity of the mercury community.
• Upon meeting for the first time, the Selection Committee will produce and provide to the Executive Committee, for information only, a statement on how Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) will be considered in the selection process. In selection, the Selection Committee must consider the diversity of all aspects of the nominee’s identity and work, as well as the history of identity and work of past Awardees to ensure that they meet the Selection Committees stated EDI goals.

5. Criteria to Consider:

The overall criterion for selection must reflect excellence and can be considered as follows:

• Impact of the Nominee’s Career

1. - The extent to which the nominee is pushing boundaries in their field, either practical or theoretical; as well as the nominee’s:
2. i. national and/or international reputation;
3. ii. success in knowledge mobilization (e.g. in bridging the gap between science and policy, mentoring students, organizing conferences);
4. iii. role in supporting their profession and the broader learning community;
5. iv. success in publicly communicating their work.

• Scholarly and Creative Outputs

1. - The extent and quality of the nominee’s record on scientific input to the field (e.g. publications, reports, assessments etc.);

• Awards

1. - Awards received by the nominee.

• Other Points to Consider

1. - The extent to which the nominee’s work is:
2. i. interdisciplinary;
3. ii. collaborative;
4. iii. novel or unique;
5. iv. demonstrates future potential, if any;
6. v. able to contribute to the global mercury community.

6. What comes with the award:

• The recognition of the awardee shall be at a time in the conference that involves the broadest audience possible, as this is important to maximize the exposure of the awardee’s work and vision to the mercury community at the ICMGP.
• The award shall be awarded at the Opening Ceremony of the 15th ICMGP, immediately prior to the awarding of the prestigious Mahaffey Lifetime Achievement Award.
• The awardee shall be required to deliver a 2-min presentation at the Opening Ceremony, to briefly highlight their work and the timeslot during which a Full Presentation will be made during an identified Oral Session at the 15th ICMGP. A total time of 30min shall be reserved for this Oral Session, of which 5min shall be allotted to Questions and Answers.
• The Executive Committee shall provide the awardee with a token reflective of the conference location or theme.
• Conference Registration (exclusive of any Workshop Registrations) shall be waived.

7. Information to be submitted for nomination:

1. i. A cover letter highlighting and summarizing the accomplishments of the nominee as per the above-mentioned criteria, including a clear statement as to why the nominee is deserving of the award. The nomination submission is limited to a maximum of 3000 words.
2. ii. A Curriculum Vitae of the nominee, including supporting detail on the individual’s scholarly contributions and information relating to the above-mentioned criteria are to be included as attachments, inclusive amongst other:
3. a. the nominee’s history of employment;
4. b. a list of peer-reviewed publications;
5. c. a list of other scientific contributions (e.g., conference communications, technical reports, professional presentations, assessment reports);
6. d. a list of relevant professional service activities in the field of mercury.

NOMINATION PACKAGES ARE REQUIRED TO BE EMAILED TO THE CO-CHAIRPERSONS OF THE EMERGING RESEARCHER AWARD IN MERCURY AS A GLOBAL POLLUTANT, BY 08 AUGUST 2021, AS FOLLOWS:
• Professor Britt Hall britt.hall@uregina.ca
• Professor Alexandre Poulain apoulain@uottawa.ca

The Emerging Researcher Award in Mercury as a Global Pollutant was proposed by Professor Alexandre Poulain and Professor Britt Hall, and developed in liaison with Dr. Alexandra Steffen.

Co-Chairpersons of the Emerging Researcher award in Mercury as a Global Pollutant

Prof Britt Hall
Britt Hall is a Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Regina, in Saskatchewan, Canada. Dr. Hall obtained her PhD in Biogeochemistry at the University of Alberta and Experimental Lakes Area examining the impact of reservoir creation on mercury and carbon cycling. Currently she focuses on mercury dynamics in prairie lakes and wetlands which are critical wildlife habitats, providing cover and nesting sites for hundreds of game and non-game wildlife species. Dr. Hall served on the Scientific Steering Committee and was Chair of the Student Mentoring program for the Rhode Island conference (ICMGP 13). Britt has attended ICMGP conferences in Whistler (3rd), Hamburg (4th), Minamata (6th), Madison (8th), Halifax (10th), Providence (13th), and Krakow (14th).

To find keep up to date with the ICMGP conference and the Emerging researcher award click here.