Ray and Almut White Scholarship for Graduate Research on Trout Streams

Request for Proposals

Deadline: Dec 1, 2025

Eligibility Criteria
The purpose of this scholarship award is to provide financial support to UW-Madison graduate students to do master’s or doctoral thesis research on wild, stream-dwelling Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) or Brown Trout (Salmo trutta), specifically on individual or group behavior in use of natural habitat structure and the processes that form, alter, or destroy it. Examples of these processes include flood, drought, landslide, avalanche, wildfire, actions of plants and animals in the ecosystem, and land-use activities such as agriculture, livestock grazing, forestry, urbanization, and/or roading, as well as urban, exurban, or industrial development and maintenance. In all cases, the research must observe, record, and interpret data on overt habitat use behavior by trout.

This means that, among whatever research methods to detect habitat use, the researcher will directly observe overt behavior of the individual trout or group of them, such as its motions, positioning, and interactions with channel features (currents, objects, light-shade patterns, etc.), possibly including other trout or other species.

Both current and prospective UW-Madison graduate students are eligible to apply:

1. Current students are encouraged to apply, even where this route of research might append a fresh chapter to their graduate thesis, aligned with the work described.
2. Prospective students will be strongly encouraged to apply, but award of the funds is dependent on identifying a faculty advisor to oversee the work and acceptance to a program appropriate to the course of research and study.
3. Faculty are encouraged to access these funds, by having their current or prospective students apply for this funding, and building the award into a larger multiple-year package of support.

How to Apply
Submit the following in a single email to Tara Mohan, temohan@wisc.edu:

1. Description of the research, highlighting how it fits the eligibility criteria (1,000 words maximum, not including references/citations)
2. Current resume/CV
3. Letter of recommendation from UW-Madison faculty advisor

Donor Information
This scholarship award is made possible via private philanthropy from Ray White, PhD, and Almut White, M.D.
Scholarship awardees are required to write a thank you to the donors and are expected to coordinate with the Nelson Institute’s Director of Advancement & Donor Relations regarding these letters. Awardees will also provide a summary after their work is completed that can be shared with the donors.

Award Information
The award is one full year (12-month) 50% research assistantship precisely directed to the work described in eligibility criteria. The research assistantship will include tuition remission and eligibility for health insurance. If the amount of funding available exceeds the cost of the research assistantship, a research flex fund will also be made available. The award can be used in any of the three years after the award is made (e.g. an award announced in February 2026 could be used 2026-27, 27-28, or 28-29) and may be split across multiple years.

Proposal Review
Proposals will be reviewed by a qualified ad hoc group to assure congruence of the project with the eligibility criteria and, where necessary, to adjudicate between the quality of multiple eligible proposals. The Nelson Institute Dean will be responsible for finally vetting the award with this input.

Applicants will be notified of their selection in February 2026. Subsequent calls will be released in future years in September when sufficient funds have accrued (e.g. every three years). Recipients may apply to receive the award again if eligible.