In addition to managing contributions designated for support of  recognition awards, the SEPM Foundation, Inc. manages the distribution of various designated student assistance grants.

• Gerald M. Friedman Fund
• Robert J. Weimer Fund (Est. 2002)
• John Sanders Endowment Fund
• Robert J. and Ruth A. Weimer Student Research Grant
• Mobil Foundation Student Participation Grants
• Student Tuition Grants

This fund is named for Gerald M. Friedman and was initiated by his former students, headed by Sal Mazzullo and John N. Seitz. Professor Friedman is currently still teaching and conducting research at Brooklyn College, which has been his home since 1985, after a long and productive career involving appointments at a variety of academic institutions and in industry. These include Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Cincinnati, and Amoco Petroleum Corp. He has received the highest medals in the field of sedimentary geology, including the Twenhofel Medal from the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) and the Power's Medal of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG).Professor Friedman began his career as a geochemist and hard rock petrologist in the Appalachians and Canadian Shield. He switched to soft rock geology as a research geologist and director of sedimentology research for Amoco Research Laboratory, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since returning to academia, first at Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, and for the past seventeen years at Brooklyn College, he has worked with his graduate students and post-doctoral researchers on variety of sedimentary geology topics, including carbonate deposits, regional stratigraphy, and environmental geology of rivers, water reservoirs, and near shore marine settings. The fund will be used to support student activities, including research projects and travel, in any area of sedimentary geology. Awardees should acknowledge the funding source in any resulting Masters theses, Ph. D. Dissertations, and other publications. To apply for a Friedman Student Grant, submit by December 31, the following information to:

Dr. Timothy R. Carr
President, SEPM Foundation, Inc.
West Virginia University
P O Box 6300 - 98 Beechurst
Morgantown, WV 26506
USA

1. A statement (typed, single-spaced; no more than a single page in length) that succinctly summarizes the objectives of the student's project;
2. A budget that shows each anticipated category of expenditure and justification for it;
3. Letters of support mailed directly to the President from the student's adviser and from one other member of the faculty in the department in which he/she is enrolled. The letter from the adviser must include a statement certifying that the student is in good academic standing at the time of the application and that she/he has completed at least one semester of graduate study. Applications will be evaluated by a committee whose members will select the awardee(s). The successful applicant(s) will be notified of the award by May 15. The minimum award will be $500; the maximum is determined by investment income

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Robert J. Weimer Fund (Est. 2002)

This fund was initiated with a generous donation by Robert and Ruth Weimer, to help fund student research in areas of sedimentary geology. Robert J. Weimer, geologist and educator, was born in Glendo, Wyoming in 1926. After service in the U.S. Navy, Bob attended the University of Wyoming, receiving a BA in Geology in 1948 and a MA in 1949; and, at Stanford University, receiving a Ph.D. in 1953. In his early years, he worked in the petroleum industry at Union Oil Co. and in consulting. He joined the faculty at Colorado School of Mines (CSM) in 1957 and taught there until his retirement as Getty Professor of Geology in 1983. Although officially "retired" he remains as active as ever and is currently Professor Emeritus of Geology and continues to lecture in courses, run field trips, and conduct research. He has received many honors and awards, most notable the Sidney Powers Medal from the AAPG (1984), AIPG Parker Medal (1986), the CSM Brown Medal (1990) and the SEPM Twenhofel Medal (1995). Additionally, in 1996, he received the Distinguished Educator Award from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists for being "a geologist and master educator, for creating and communicating new ideas that have advanced the science of geology and its integration with other disciplines."To apply for a Weimer Student Grant, submit by December 31, the following information to:

Dr. Timothy R. Carr
President, SEPM Foundation, Inc.
West Virginia University
P O Box 6300 - 98 Beechurst
Morgantown, WV 26506
USA

1. A statement (typed, single-spaced; no more than a single page in length) that succinctly summarizes the objectives of the student's project;
2. A budget that shows each anticipated category of expenditure and justification for it;
3. Letters of support mailed directly to the President from the student's adviser and from one other member of the faculty in the department in which he/she is enrolled. The letter from the adviser must include a statement certifying that the student is in good academic standing at the time of the application and that she/he has completed at least one semester of graduate study. Applications will be evaluated by a committee whose members will select the awardee(s). The successful applicant(s) will be notified of the award by May 15. The minimum award will be $500; the maximum is determined by investment income.

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John Sanders Endowment Fund

This fund is named in honor of the late John E. Sanders, a well-known sedimentologist who taught at Yale (1954-1965) and Barnard College of Columbia University (1969-1989). Sanders was born in 1926 and completed his undergraduate work in Geology at Ohio Wesleyan University. He received his Ph.D. from Yale in 1953. His work on the Triassic Rift System, turbidity currents, and coastal sedimentation remains pioneering to this day. As a concerned environmentalist, he was one of the earliest scientists to recognize that geologic principles can be applied in documenting and mitigating environmental problems. Author and co-author of numerous papers and several textbooks, including the Principles of Sedimentology, Sanders died in 1999.

The fund will be used to support student research in the areas of coastal or environmental geology.  Awardees should acknowledge the funding source in any resulting Masters theses, Ph. D. Dissertations, and other publications.

To apply for a Sanders Student Research Grant, submit by December 31, the following information to:

1. a statement (typed, single-spaced; no more than a single page in length) that succinctly summarized the objectives of the student's project;
2. a budget that shows each anticipated category of expenditure and justification for it;
3. letters of support mailed directly to the President from the student's adviser and from one other member of the faculty in the department in which he/she is enrolled. The letter from the adviser must include a statement certifying that the student is in good academic standing at the time of the application and that she/he has completed at least one semester of graduate study.

Applications will be evaluated by a committee whose members will select the awardee(s). The successful applicant(s) will be notified of the award by May 15.  The minimum award will be $500, the maximum is determined by investment income.

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Robert J. and Ruth A. Weimer Student Research Grant

To apply for a Weimer Student Research Grant, submit by December 31 the following information to:

1. a statement (typed, single-spaced; no more than a single page in length) that succinctly summarized the objectives of the student's project;
2. a budget that shows each anticipated category of expenditure and justification for it;
3. letters of support mailed directly to the President from the student's adviser and from one other member of the faculty in the department in which he/she is enrolled. The letter from the adviser must include a statement certifying that the student is in good academic standing at the time of the application and that she/he has completed at least one semester of graduate study.

Applications will be evaluated by a committee whose members will select the awardee(s). The successful applicant(s) will be notified of the award no later than May 15.

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SEPM has initiated a new program entitled SEPM Student Participation Grants.  These grants provide travel funds for students selected by SEPM Sections to attend our Annual Meeting.  The purpose of the program is to encourage students to discover the spectrum of science presented at the Annual Meetings and to begin expanding their professional network, while building a better working relationship between SEPM international and our regional SEPM Sections.

The SEPM Student Participation Grants program was originally funded by the Mobil Foundation for the years 1998 through 2000.  The Mobil Foundation has renewed funding for 2001.  It provides for all travel and meeting expenses, and a one-year membership in SEPM, for one or two students from each of SEPM's Sections, including international sections.  Each section has the opportunity to select one or two outstanding technical presentations by SEPM Section students at their respective Section Meetings.  These students then attend either the AAPG/SEPM Annual Meeting or the SEPM Congress, at which their research papers or posters will be presented.

Information on this program has been sent to the officers of all regional SEPM Sections.  The section establishes guidelines for evaluating upper division or graduate students presentations in sedimentary geology either oral or poster at the section's annual meeting.  The section announces the program, distributes the guidelines to interested students participating in the section meeting, and implements the judging process resulting in the selection of the student to receive the participation grant, and informs SEPM Headquarters in Tulsa of the selected student.  For information about becoming a member of a SEPM Section, or for information about Oral and Poster Presentation opportunities at section meetings please contact the following:

Great Lakes Section SEPM http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/gls-sepm/#TOP.
Gulf Coast Section http://www.gcssepm.org/
Latin America Section
Mid-continent Section
Northeastern Section (formerly Eastern Section) browne@enigma.rider.edu
Pacific Section http://geosun1.sjsu.edu/~sedlock/SEPM/
Permian Basin Section http://www.wtgs.org/pbs-sepm/
Rocky Mountain Section  Scholarship Awards
Southeastern Section http://www.gly.uga.edu/se_sepm/se_sepm.html

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At both the Annual Meeting and GSA, SEPM offers two student grants to attend any SEPM short course. The grant includes free tuition only. The students must provide their own transportation to and from the meeting.

To qualify for the grant, each applicant must be a full time student, must provide the name of the college he/she is attending and the professor's name as a reference. The student can not have received the same grant within one calendar year. (As an example the student can win for the current year Annual Meeting with AAPG in spring/summer but can not apply for the current year meeting with GSA in the fall). The grant is awarded upon a first come first serve basis.  To apply, send the requested information to:

The Meetings and Continuing Education Coordinator at SEPM will register the student and take care of the logistical planning and communications with the winning student.

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