The Tóth Award

Purpose of Award

The Tóth Award is named in honour of the founder of the Canadian National Chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists, Professor József Tóth. During his long and productive career in Canada, Dr. Tóth made many important contributions to Canadian hydrogeology and was an inspirational teacher.

The Tóth Award is presented each year when the IAH-CNC hosts or participates in a national conference and is intended to promote active participation in the IAH-CNC among hydrogeology students attending Canadian Universities and to recognize excellence in hydrogeology. The award provides an incentive for students and recent graduates to attend the national IAH-CNC conferences and present the results of their studies.

Eligibility Criteria

• Abstracts submitted for consideration for the award must be prepared primarily by the student (as first author) and must deal with, as the primary topic, the student's university thesis or other university work in Canadian hydrogeology.
• The student must, at the time of the submission of the abstract, be currently registered as a B.Sc., M.Sc. or Ph.D. student at a Canadian University and must provide proof of enrollment.
• Mature students who have returned to university to complete an advanced degree following several years of outside experience, or students who have worked as hydrogeologists for several years and are attending university on a part-time basis are not eligible for the award.
• The student must attend the conference and present their paper (either oral or poster).

Submission Procedure

Students who wish their contribution to be considered for the Tóth Award should follow the directions set out by the conference organizing committee. Normally students request that their contribution be considered for the Tóth Award at the time their abstract is submitted. The student must meet the eligibility criteria above.

Judging

The Vice President of the IAH-CNC will strike a committee consisting of him/herself (or designate) as well as two or more additional Canadian hydrogeologists who will be attending the annual conference. This will constitute the Selection Panel that will be charged with setting the criteria used for judging and determining the winner of the award for the year.

Evaluation criteria may vary on a year to year basis, depending on whether the conference accommodates the submission of only an abstract or a full written paper, and whether presentations may be made only by oral presentation or by either oral or poster presentation. If a conference allows for full papers to be submitted, then award applicants must submit a full paper to be considered for the award and applications without corresponding conference papers will not be evaluated by the committee. If a conference only requires an abstract, then a full paper is not required.

Written material (i.e. abstract or full paper) will be judged on the basis of technical merit, originality of the topic and quality of the writing. The selection panel will evaluate written material (abstract or full paper) prior to the conference, and may identify, on the basis of merit, a short-list for judging of presentations (oral and/or poster). Student presentations will be judged on the basis of the quality of the visual materials and the quality of the presentation. Poster presenters will be asked by the judge(s) to present an overview of the poster. The quality of responses to questions will also be evaluated, although the overall marking scheme will include flexibility in cases where no significant questions are asked. The student receiving the highest combined mark will be judged the award winner.

The Selection Panel will determine the weighting based on the requirements of the conference. Examples of weights are as follows, but may vary.

• Conferences allowing full papers: paper (40%); presentation (50%); questions (10%)
• Conferences requiring only an abstract: abstract (20%); presentation (70%); questions (10%)

The determination of the panel will be final, and the award will be presented as part of the annual conference. The award will not be presented if the Selection Panel decides that no submissions are of a sufficient quality.

Award

The winning student will receive a cash prize of $1,000 as well as a certificate from the IAH-CNC. Up to three runners-up will each receive a cash prize of $500, and all winners will also receive a one-year free membership in the IAH-CNC. The winning presentation will be highlighted and the abstract reprinted in the IAH-CNC Bulletin and on the IAH-CNC website.

Recent Winners

Meghan Vissers (Western University, 2021), Victoria Propp (McMaster University, 2020), Robert Wu (McGill University, 2019), Kelly Hokanson (University of Alberta, 2018), Samantha Morgan (Simon Fraser University, 2017), Paul Menkveld (University of Waterloo, 2016).

Additional Information

For additional information, contact the Vice President of the IAH-CNC.