Awards

Generous individuals and organizations active in mycorrhizal research have kindly provided the prizes listed below to recognize outstanding research carried out by students and/or young scientists. Conference organizers would like to thank them all for their commitment to encouraging students and helping to develop the next generation of mycorrhizal researchers! The prizes listed below will be awarded to the students/young scientists at the conference based on evaluations of their presentation by an independent committee.

		J. L. Harley medal is jointly provided by New Phytologist trust and the International Mycorrhiza Society and awarded to the best oral presentation given by a graduate student at ICOM9. The medal is also accompanied by prize money of £200 (GBP). Prize background is provided here.

		Barbara Mosse – Laval Université Prize is kindly donated by the Centre d’étude de la forêt, Université Laval (Prof. Damase Khasa). It will be awarded to a graduate student as the first runner up for best oral presentation on any aspect of mycorrhiza research. The prize will consist of a certificate and US$100.

		International Mycorrhiza Society prize will be provided to the second runner up for best oral presentation by a graduate student on any aspect of mycorrhiza research. The prize will consist of a certificate and US$100.

		Mycorrhiza prize is provided by Springer for the best poster presentation by a graduate student on any aspect of mycorrhiza research. Consists of a certificate and voucher worth US$250, towards the purchase of any available Springer book.

		Václav Melzer prize will be provided by the Czech mycorrhizal research consortium to the first runner up for the best poster presentation by a graduate student on any aspect of mycorrhiza research The prize will consist of a certificate and US$100. Václav Melzer (1878–1968) was a Czech teacher and mycologist devoted mainly to the genus Russula. He described several new species (e.g., Russula helodes Melzer, Russula velenovskyi Melzer & Zvára) and the fungal genera Melzericium and Melzerodontia are named in his honor. He developed a staining solution known as "Melzer's reagent", which is widely used to study the cellular structures of fungi including cell walls of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

		International Mycorrhiza Society poster prize will be provided to the second runner up for best poster presentation by a graduate student on any aspect of mycorrhiza research. The prize will consist of a certificate and US$100.

		Ultimate Mycorrhiza Application for Harnessing Agriculture Resources Integration (UMAHARI) Award will be provided by Dr. Alok Adholeya in fond memories of his Father and Mother. Through this award, a best poster and a best oral presentation will be awarded given by young researchers (below 30 years of age) on application research of mycorrhiza towards product or inoculants. The award includes cash prize of US$100 each besides a certificate and citation.

		Biosyneterra prize provided by Dr. Peter Moutoglis, BioSyneterra Solutions, Inc. This prize will be awarded for the best oral presentation by a graduate student with emphasis on applied research and innovative / industrial applications of mycorrhizas. The prize will consist of a certificate and US$100.

		Karel Cejp Prize will be provided by the Czech mycorrhizal research consortium to the best poster on mycological aspects of mycorrhizas presented by a graduate student. The prize will consist of a certificate and US$100. Karel Cejp (1900–1979) was a Czech botanist, mycologist and phytopathologist. He wrote a famous textbook of mycology (in two volumes, 1957) and mentored a number of eminent Czech mycologists. Contributed to research on microfungi and founded the Division of Mycology at the Charles University, Prague. He promoted studies on phytopathologic, pathologic and biotechnological aspects of mycology.
		Symbiom prize provided by Petr Kotyza, Symbiom, s.r.o. This prize will be awarded for the best poster presentation by a graduate student with emphasis on application of mycorrhizas in open field agriculture. The prize will consist of a certificate and US$100.

		InoculumPlus prize provided by Prof. Silvio Gianinazzi, InoculumPlus. This prize will be awarded for the best poster presentation by a graduate student with emphasis on application of mycorrhizas in horticulture. The prize will consist of a certificate and US$100.

Financial assistance

Besides the above described student/your researcher awards, financial assistance may be provided to young researchers from low and middle income countries presenting their research, according to availability of resources. Assistance may also be provided to other researchers in well justified cases provided the availability of sufficient funds. Applications for financial assistance should be directed to the main organizer (Dr. Jan Jansa, jansa@biomed.cas.cz) not later than 31 March 2017, outlining the research to be presented and the reasons why the necessary financial resources to attend the conference could not be obtained elsewhere. Submission of abstract of prospective presentation is a precondition for positive evaluation of any requests for financial assistance.