Now accepting applications for our 2025 Junior Research Networking Awards

Deadline: September 15, 2025 (11:59pm)

Award Overview
The PS/WiCS Networking Award for Junior Scientists is designed to encourage graduate students, postdocs, and assistant professors to participate in and network at the Psychonomic Society's Annual Meeting. Presenting one’s research at professional meetings such as the PS Annual Meeting is an important way for individuals to become known in the professional community and to develop collaborative relationships with other professionals in the field.

2025 Awards
Awards will provide up to $1,000 USD to cover the expenses of travel for the purpose of networking.

Applicants must be: 

1. A graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, or assistant professor 
2. Listed as an author on a talk or poster at the Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society 
3. Note: A woman scientist of any nationality may receive the award. Depending on the final availability of funds, there may be some networking awards that are restricted to particular locations, and taxation of awards may vary by location. 

Application Instructions
To apply, submit the following to the Networking Award Committee: 

1. Evidence of a submitted paper or poster abstract 
2. A networking plan. This plan should identify a senior scientist with whom the applicant would network at the conference; although only women scientists are eligible for the award, the targeted senior scientist can be any gender. The plan should also include the specific goals to be accomplished with the targeted scientist (e.g. develop a collaboration; exchange research ideas; receive input on experiments, a grant proposal or a manuscript, etc.), and should describe the relevance of this to the applicant's research program. The plan should be no more than 2 pages long (single-spaced, using a 12-point font). 
3. Evidence of agreement from the networking target(s) to carry out the plan (e.g. an email confirmation) 
4.  A current CV

Please combine all four components into a single PDF and submit via email to womenincognitivescience@gmail.com.

Conflict of Interest
Applicants must not be current (or former, within the last 5 years) trainees of current members of the WiCS Leadership Team, Advisory Board, or of the current Networking Awards Committee. 

Timeline
Awards will be announced on or around October 1, 2025. Winners will be honored at a ceremony at the 2025 Annual WiCS+ Meeting on Thursday, November 20 (time to be determined) before the start of the Psychonomic Society Meeting. 

Winners are required to submit a report on the meeting and networking experience. The deadline for submitting the final report is December 9, 2025. Reports should be submitted to womenincognitivescience@gmail.com. 

Decisions will be made by the WiCS Networking Awards Committee.

About Women in Cognitive Science (WiCS)
Women in Cognitive Science was founded in 2001, with the goal of improving the visibility of women scientists, by fostering an environment that welcomes and nurtures young women scholars who wish to contribute to the fields within Psychology and Cognitive Science that traditionally attract fewer women than men (e.g., cognitive science, experimental psychology, and cognitive neuroscience). Women in Cognitive Science also aims to contribute to the professional development of scholars throughout their career, to facilitate the creation of a network that will provide contacts and connections to other women in science, and to improve the visibility of women by ensuring their presence on policymaking committees and editorial boards.

PS/WiCS
Networking Awards for Junior Scientists Recipients

2024

Ruhi Bhanap
University of Zürich, Switzerland

Lizzie Bradford
St. Andrews, UK

2023

Halszka Bąk
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland

Febe Demeyer
KU Leuven, Belgium

2022

Hui W Cheung
University of Essex, UK

Hannah Dames
University of Zurich & University of Freiburg, Switzerland

2021

Mane Kara-Yakoubian
Ryserson University, Canada

Beatrice Valentini
University of Geneva, Switzerland

2020

Lois (Katie) Burnett
Stony Brook University, USA

Lindsey Hildebrand
Boston College, USA

Deana Vitrano
Skidmore College, USA

2019

Seema Prasad
University of Hyderabad, India

Yingxue Tian
Rice University, USA

2018

Cynthia S.Q. Siew 
University of Warwick, UK

Trish L. Varao-Sousa
University of British Columbia, Canada

2017

Emma Holmes
University of Western Ontario, Canada 

Sarah Irons
Rice University, USA

2016

Myrthe Faber
University of Notre Dame, USA 

Angela Grant
The Pennsylvania State University, USA

2015

Holly Bowen
Boston College, USA

Sharda Umanath
Claremont McKenna College, USA

Other awards from the Psychonomic Society

Clifford T. Morgan Distinguished Leadership Award

Mid-Career Award

Early Career Award

Best Article Award

Graduate Travel Award

J. Frank Yates Student Travel Award
Supporting diversity & inclusion
in cognitive psychology

Student Travel Award from Developing Nations

Psychonomic Society/Women
in Cognitive Science Travel
and Networking Award for
Junior Scientists