Travel Grant Notification (Accept or Decline): On or about Monday, August 8, 2011

About Travel Grants

AST awards a limited number of travel grants to eligible applicants to offset hotel and travel expenses associated with attending the Fellows Symposium. Travel grant recipients must meet the stated criteria and reside at the Hilton DFW Lakes Conference Center on Friday and Saturday nights.

The travel grant includes two nights at the conference center and meals during the conference. The travel grant also provides up to $300 to cover in full or in part the cost of travel and any additional nights at the conference center (see Reimbursable Expenses section below). Travel grant recipients also receive a one-year complimentary membership to AST, provided the grant recipient is not already a member and/or has not previously received a complimentary membership through another AST program.

Eligibility

Travel grant applicants must meet the relevant eligibility criteria on the “Registration” tab, plus:

• Must be attending the AST Fellows Symposium for the first time
• Must not have current funding for travel (e.g. research stipend, award)

How to Apply

Eligible registrants interested in requesting a travel grant must complete the certification section during the registration process and must pay the registration fee. Trainee/employment status will be verified based on the information provided in the certification section.

Institution/Program Limits: Please note that no more than a total of 2 applicants will be accepted from a specific program, and no more than a total of 4 applicants will be accepted from a specific institution.

Notification
All travel grant applicants will be notified as to whether or not they have been awarded a grant on or about August 8, 2011. It is at that time that meeting attendees are given instructions for making hotel and travel arrangements. If an applicant is denied a travel grant, the applicant will have the option of requesting a full refund of the registration fee or attending the meeting without a travel grant.

Reimbursable Expenses
In addition to two nights' accommodations, which includes meals during the meeting, the following travel expenses will be reimbursed (in full or in part) up to the $300 USD limit when receipts are provided:

• Roundtrip coach class airfare to/from Grapevine, Texas
  
  • Fee for 1 checked bag only, if needed
• Mileage (reimbursed at $.51/mile), tolls and hotel parking if grant recipient chooses to drive to the meeting
• Additional hotel nights at the Hilton DFW Lakes if required due to flight schedule (Thursday or Sunday night)

Travel grant recipients will receive a reimbursement form at the meeting. The completed form with receipts must be submitted to the AST National Office no later than Friday, November 18, 2011. Reimbursement requests received after November 18, 2011 may not be processed.

Non-reimbursable Expenses
Other than the specific items listed above, AST will not reimburse any other expenses including, but not limited to: registration fee, ground transportation at your home airport or in Grapevine (taxi/shuttle), gasoline (this is accounted for in the $.51/mi reimbursement rate for driving), meals on own while traveling or during the conference (e.g. room service), long-distance phone calls, flight upgrades or additional checked bags above the 1 bag limit, entertainment (in hotel or offsite), or tips/gratuities. Special note about rental cars: if you use a rental car to drive to the meeting in lieu of flying, you may submit for reimbursement the cost of the rental itself plus gas and tolls, not mileage. Up to $300 will be covered regardless of your total expense. If you fly to Texas and rent a car while attending the meeting, rental car expense will not be reimbursed. Receipts for non-reimbursable expenses will be returned along with reimbursement checks.