Poster Awards Competition
Background
This year we will again be giving awards for the best posters presented at the ECM conference. It is anticipated that posters will be on display during the evening reception, as in past years, as a focal point for discussion and dialogue among conference attendees. Poster presenters will entertain questions and describe the main points of the poster to interested listeners.
Awards
Three awards will be given for posters that achieve excellence in one of three categories: innovative numerical modeling, advancement of estuarine and coastal science, and innovations in modeling for support of estuarine and coastal management. Award winners will be announced at the conference banquet, and an award certificate will be prepared and sent to award recipients at a later time.
Innovative Modeling
This award recognizes the poster that best presents exciting and innovative numerical methods and/or models with great potential to impact estuarine and coastal modeling over the next decade and beyond.
Advancement of Estuarine and Coastal Science This award recognizes the poster that best presents the leveraging of coastal and estuarine models for the advancement of coastal and estuarine science. Examples might include coupled monitoring and modeling efforts that build on our understanding of coastal and estuarine systems.
Modeling Innovations for Estuarine and Coastal Management
This award recognizes the poster that best presents innovations in coastal and estuarine models and/or modeling systems to support estuary and coastal zone management. Examples of "innovations" might include data assimilation methodologies, real-time deployments of models, or web-based implementations of models. Examples of "management" activities might include construction and rehabilitation efforts, water quality control, fisheries support, dredging efforts, and maritime navigation.
Selection Methodology
All registered attendees will have a poster ballot included in their registration packet. The ballot will allow each attendee to rank the top three posters in each of the three categories. Voters may elect the same poster for multiple categories, but three separate posters will receive the three awards.
Awards Committee
An awards committee of three will be formed by the conference organizers to count ballots, determine the popular choice for each award, and select awardees. The ballots will serve to advise the committee but shall not dictate the awardees. The majority vote of the committee shall determine the awardees, and the committee reserves the right to withhold one or all of the awards if, in their opinion, there is not a fitting winner.
Conflicts of Interest
If, after counting ballots, the awards committee learns that a member is an author or co-author of the 1st or 2nd top vote-getter in any of the three categories, then this committee member shall be recused and the conference organizers shall appoint a replacement.