The NSF-funded LEAPS: RCN: ROOT & SHOOT (Rooting Out Oppression Together and SHaring Our Outcomes Transparently) aims to strengthen plant science to become more welcoming to all. Part of this mission involves building strong connections with members of SACNAS, MANRRS, and AISES.
To this end, this project has funds to support a limited number of travel awards to help defray the costs of attending a plant-science conference (eligible conferences are listed below) for student/mentor pairs affiliated with SACNAS, MANRRS, and AISES. Successful applicants will be reimbursed up to $3000 (per pair; $4000 for international conferences) for appropriate travel-related costs incurred by attending one of the designated plant science conferences.
Eligible conferences 2026 travel award conferences
- 2027 Maize Genetics Meeting (Organized by the Maize Genetics Cooperation (MGC)): March 11 – 14, 2027 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
- 2027 IS-MPMI Congress (Organized by the International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (IS-MPMI)): July 18 – 22, 2027 in Jeju, South Korea.
- ICAR 2027 (Organized by the North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee (NAASC)): July 19 – 23, 2027 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Plant Biology 2027 (Organized by the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB)): July 31 – August 3, 2027 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
- Botany 2027 (Organized by the Botanical Society of America (BSA), American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT), and others): July 31 – August 4, 2027 in Buffalo, New York, USA
Eligibility
The student should be a current undergraduate student, graduate student, or recent graduate. The mentor should be a person who serves in some capacity to support the academic progress of the student. Often the mentor will be a professor with whom the student conducts research, but the mentor can also be a postdoc or graduate student who supervises the student, or an instructor who has taught the student, or an academic advisor. All we ask is that the student and mentor are mutually supportive and that at least one of the pair is an active member of either SACNAS, MANRRS, or AISES.
Previous plant science research experience is not required to apply for a travel award. Submitting an abstract to present a research poster or talk is encouraged, but not required. We do ask that you tell us in your application how attending the conference will impact on your academic preparation, professional development, and future career.
If you would like to be considered for one of these travel awards, please complete this application. The application should be completed jointly by the student/mentor pair. The deadline for application submission is Friday, November 20, 2026.
Note: Funding of this program is contingent on continued support from the NSF.
A note on international travel
Priority is given to scientists currently working in the United States.
Please note that as one of the conferences is based outside of the US, applicants who are not US citizens or permanent residents need to affirm that they are legally able to travel out of and back into the US. For example, many student and researcher visas offer only a single entry into the US. People currently working in the US on such a visa would need to obtain another visa in order to re-enter the US after attending an international conference. Currently, visa wait times are long and their issuance uncertain, so we encourage those in such a situation to consider attending domestic conferences. Note also that visa application fees are not eligible for reimbursement by the travel awards.
If you are applying to attend a conference outside of the US, we ask that you explain why you feel that it is important to attend an international conference, and how doing that will help you build networks in the US.
In order to be covered by this award, international air fare must abide by the Fly America Act. For more information on the Fly America Act, please visit: https://www.gsa.gov/policy-regulations/policy/travel-management-policy/fly-america-act.
How to apply
If you would like to be considered for a ROOT & SHOOT travel award, please complete this application and submit it no later than Friday, November 26, 2026. The application asks for information about the student and mentor, and should be completed by them jointly.
All awardees, including students and mentors, will be required to complete short questionnaires before and after the meeting, and to write a summary statement regarding their meeting experience after the close of the conference. Air travel must be arranged through ASPB’s travel portal. Reimbursement checks will be processed and issued upon receipt of the required documentation. Each member of the pair should request reimbursement of their own personal expenses.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Marcia Puig-Lluch, ROOT & SHOOT Program Facilitator, at mpuiglluch@aspb.org.
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