NPSS "From Membership to Leadership" Travel Support
Selected applicants will be reimbursed for approved expenses up to USD 1500 associated with traveling to and participating at the 2026 Real Time Conference
Application deadline: April 25, 2026
Notification will be made by: April 30, 2026
Description
Selected aThrough initiative funding NPSS is continuing sponsorship of the “Membership to Leadership (M2L)” Travel Support. The purpose of the initiative is to introduce young members of IEEE NPSS to service opportunities via the NPSS Membership Table that is present at all NPSS sponsored conferences. Each M2L person selected will be able to claim up to USD 1500 of travel support as a student, post-doc or young professional member of our society to attend an NPSS conference. A young professional applicant is eligible for up to ten years from the graduation date of their highest degree. To receive this support the individual will be required to help staff the NPSS Membership Table at the conference at least 2-hours a day. There will also be a senior society member at the booth to orient the awardee on operating the booth and to provide general mentorship with regards to volunteer service to the society. Our hope is that individuals that receive this travel support will become future volunteer leaders of IEEE NPSS. The M2L Initiative will award up to two travel reimbursements per IEEE NPSS sponsored conference. Recipients of M2L travel support must follow IEEE travel rules, which will be provided to the recipient at the time they are notified of their selection to receive the support. In addition, we ask that each recipient, send me (rmiyaoka@uw.edu) a photo of themselves at the membership booth. If there are two recipients at the conference one photo including both at the Membership table would be fine. Ideally, the senior IEEE member running the booth could be included in the picture. Finally, we ask that each recipient, provide a short summary/highlight of their experience as an M2L initiative recipient. We would like to start including a short write-up of M2L recipients in the NPSS Newsletter
Eliglibility requirements
- IEEE and NPSS membership
- Applicants must have submitted an abstract to the conference
- A young professional applicant is eligible for up to ten years from the graduation date of their highest degree. To receive this support the individual will be required tro help staff the NPSS Membership Table at the conference at least 2 hours a day
All individuals that submit the required application documents will be considered by the M2L committee for selection. Applicants will be notified as soon as a decision has been made if they have been selected for this travel support. For 2026 RTC Meeting notification will be made by 30 April 2026.
Application Instructions
Applicants need to submit responses to the four questions listed below about why they are applying for the M2L travel support and their interest in volunteer opportunities within IEEE NPSS and their specific technical society. Please include IEEE membership number with application and limit responses to less than two pages (12 pt font).
- What motivates you to want to volunteer at our conference?
- Please describe a previous volunteer experience and what you gained from it
- Have you volunteered at an IEEE conference before? If yes, please describe the role and your experience
- What are the reasons that you became an IEEE member?
Each applicant is required to have at least one letter of recommendation from their supervisor/mentor(s) or senior colleague supporting their application for the M2L travel support. Applicants can include up to two letters of recommendation with their application. While an advisor can write letters of recommendation for more than one individual, only one individual from a single laboratory will receive travel support.
Please send completed applications and letters of recommendation to (rmiyaoka@uw.edu) by end of day April 25 2026. Include in the Subject line of the email: IEEE NPSS M2L Travel Support Application. Please send the documents as PDF files.