Katharine B. Payne Fellows Program in Conservation Bioacoustics

Katharine B. Payne Fellows Program in Conservation Bioacoustics
Overview

The K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics (Yang Center), based at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York, is a recognized leader in bioacoustics, the science of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting sounds in nature for conservation, monitoring, and research. To support the implementation of conservation bioacoustics globally, the Yang Center invites candidates to apply for the inaugural year of the Katharine B. Payne Fellows Program in Conservation Bioacoustics. The fellowship is named in honor of Katharine B. (Katy) Payne, a pioneer in the study of animal sounds and a passionate conservationist. Katy’s discoveries about the songs of humpback whales, and later about the infrasonic communication systems of elephants, transformed our understanding of communication in socially complex animals. Her insight that sound could provide a non-invasive way of studying wildlife in tropical forests helped lay the foundation for the new field of conservation bioacoustics.

The Payne Fellowship will provide support to individuals who are engaged in conservation bioacoustics and wish to help teach and mentor others to advance the accessibility and utility of conservation bioacoustics. Payne Fellows will receive individualized training from Yang Center staff, participate in training and mentoring others, and have opportunities to expand their networks for personal and professional growth.

An advanced university degree, such as a Ph.D., is not required for participation in this program, and we encourage applications from people of diverse backgrounds, regardless of current career stage, including individuals working for governments, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions, among others.

Description of the fellowship

Payne Fellows will be expected to contribute to conservation bioacoustics through their own work and through their involvement with the Indonesia-Malaysia BEAT program (Bioacoustics Equipment and Training Program). In this inaugural year, the selected applicant will contribute to the Yang Center’s training and mentorship efforts in Indonesia and Malaysia by working with Yang Center staff to develop written and audio-visual training materials that are customized to the region and can be used for programs taught by the fellows or others in the region. In addition, the fellows will assist with instruction and mentorship to the second cohort of the Indonesia and Malaysia Bioacoustics Equipment and Training (BEAT) Program.

Beyond contributions to regional education, the successful applicant will have flexibility to dedicate 50% of their fellowship time to additional research and/or outreach activities targeted to audiences in Indonesia or Malaysia. Possible activities include, but are not limited to, advancing research goals in the field of conservation bioacoustics, developing additional resources for teaching and training (beyond those used by the BEAT program), or working on a community engagement or public outreach initiative related to conservation bioacoustics. Payne Fellows will have the additional opportunity to audit part or all of the “Introduction to Conservation Bioacoustics” course at Cornell University (August to December).

Payne Fellows will spend a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 months at the Yang Center in Ithaca, NY, USA. During this time, the successful applicant will work full-time with both the Capacity Building and Southeast Asia Research teams at the Yang Center. To facilitate this collaboration, we suggest that fellows plan their visit between March and December to take advantage of the period of the year when staff at the center have more flexibility. We recognize that the duration and timing of the fellowship period may present a constraint for some applicants and are happy to discuss modifications to facilitate participation. Financial support in compliance with minimum visa
requirements will be provided for the duration of the fellowship (https://international.globallearning.cornell.edu/host-departments/sponsor-j-1-exchange-visitors) .

Benefits of the fellowship

Financial support will be provided for the time when the fellow is part of the Payne Fellows program, including a stipend, travel, and living costs. Costs for the visa application and health insurance will also be covered. If needed, we will endeavor to provide travel support for accompanying family members.

Required qualifications

●Strong motivation to learn and contribute to the field of conservation bioacoustics. Previous experience with passive acoustic monitoring is desirable, but is not required as long as applicants can demonstrate an understanding of bioacoustics and conservation concepts in their proposal (e.g. participating in projects where species were identified based on their sounds, auditory monitoring, use of directional recordings, creating audio libraries, implementing conservation projects, etc.)

●Desire to teach and share conservation bioacoustic methods in support of conservatio

● Spoken and written proficiency in English and Bahasa Indonesia/Melayu. Full fluency is not required.

● An undergraduate degree is required, but a Ph.D. degree is not a requirement.

Preferred qualifications

● Previous hands-on experience with passive acoustic monitoring and/or conservation bioacoustics. This can include field deployment of autonomous recording units (ARUs), management of acoustic datasets, and/or analysis of acoustic data.
● Preference will be given to citizens and legal permanent residents from Indonesia or Malaysia, however, applications from participants in other ASEAN countries will be considered.
● Previous mentorship or teaching experience, with a strong preference for applicants who have a clear and achievable plan to continue training and mentoring others in conservation bioacoustics after the conclusion of the fellowship. Please note that we support and encourage all types of training and mentoring, whether conducted through an academic institution, government or non-government groups, or other organizations, and including short courses, workshops, seminars, and informal mentorship.

Application process

The application submission is via this website. The application is submitted after applicants fill out all the fields in the two sections of this form. The first section contains fields to include the applicant's resume information. The second section contains questions that will be evaluated by a committee composed of researchers from the Yang Center and collaborators in Indonesia and Malaysia. The evaluation criteria for each question are described below the questions.

Please submit your application by October 15th, 23:59 your local time.

For any questions about the program, application process, or financial support, please contact Larissa Sugai (lsugai@cornell.edu).

You are welcome to fill out the application in English, Bahasa Indonesia, or Bahasa Malaysia.
Resume
Full name
Email
example@example.com
Contact information

Residential or professional

Residential or Professional

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Phone Number
Please enter a valid phone number.
Summary of relevant skills
List the abilities and skills you consider relevant for thePayne fellowship. Use bullets points to provide short descriptions of these skills.
Professional experience
List current and previous professional experiences,including voluntary and unpaid experiences.
Education
List your previous educational background starting from high school tothe most recent degree obtained. Include degree, institution and graduation year.

The following questions will provide the most substantial information to evaluate your application. The evaluation criteria for each question is provided below the answer field.

1. Previous experience and passion for bioacoustics
1.1. Describe what motivates you to use animal sounds to study, understand, and preserve biodiversity. Share how you got involved with the study of animal sounds. Describe an event or an experience that inspired you to listen and understand animal sounds/bioacoustics? What is it about animalsounds/bioacoustics that makes you passionate/curious?

* Evaluation: Passion for topic; previous experience with passive acoustic monitoring, or proposal demonstrates an understanding of bioacoustics and conservation concepts.0/500
1.2. How are you presently using bioacoustics?

* Evaluation: Passion for topic; previous experience with passive acoustic monitoring, or proposal demonstrates an understanding of bioacoustics and conservation concepts.0/500
1.3. This fellowship is intended for motivated individuals who come from communities that are presently underrecognized in bioacoustics research, or who have themselves experienced challenges or limited opportunities to pursue bioacoustics research. It includes, but is not limited to, communities whose access to equitable resources in the academic pipeline were scarce, or racial and ethnic populations are disproportionately represented in higher education, or incomes are in the lowest income brackets, or any other factors that relate with opportunity gaps. Please, use this space to comment on the challenges and opportunities you've experienced during your educational/professional development or more broadly, in any aspect of your socio-cultural and family context.

* Evaluation: Thoughtfulness of response, potential to broaden the communities represented in conservation bioacoustics0/500
2. Vision for advancing conservation with bioacoustics in Southeast Asia
2.1. What is your vision for advancing the field of conservation bioacoustics within your home country or region?

* Evaluation: Degree of reflection on challenges0/500
2.2. What are the biggest challenges and needs in conservation within your country and study region, and how can bioacoustics help address them? How does your vision for your fellowship address these challenges and needs?

* Evaluation: Effectiveness of proposed solution(s)0/500
3. Long-term interest in working in bioacoustics and conservation serving as a resource for others
3.1. How do you envision sharing your knowledge and experience gained through this fellowship? Please tell us about how this fellowship will benefit conservation.

* Evaluation: Clearly expressed plan for knowledge dissemination, identification of potential (or confirmed) partners and strategy for supporting work; potential community impacts0/500
3.2. During the fellowship or afterward, do you plan to work with partners to help build and support the bioacoustics community within your home country or region? If so, what partners will you work with (government, universities, NGOs, communities, etc.)?

* Evaluation: Clearly expressed plan for knowledge dissemination, identification of potential (or confirmed) partners and strategy for supporting work; potential community impacts0/500
3.3. How will you use bioacoustics going forward in your work? Tell us how this fellowship advance your career goals and what would be your for facilitating the work of others who wish to use bioacoustics.

Evaluation: Candidate work plans; plans for facilitating work of others0/500
4. Teaching and mentorship experience
4.1. What is your experience with teaching, training, and/or mentoring?

* Evaluation: Level of experience0/500
4.2. Can you explain how you help people understand information? Please describe any specific techniques, activities, tools, or other approaches you use to help your students and trainees learn new concepts

* Evaluation: Thoughtfulness of teaching philosophy (approach)0/500
5. Vision for Yang Center experience
5.1. What are the things that particularly interest you about the opportunity to spend time at the Yang Center in Ithaca, New York?

* Evaluation: Perspective for a meaningful experience during fellowship0/500
5.2. Are there other activities or connections that you would wish to make while spending time in the USA? For instance, attending a conference, enrolling in a course or workshop, or meeting with specific people.

* Evaluation: Perspective for a meaningful experience during fellowship0/1000
5.3. Do you have a specific research and/or outreach work that you would like to pursue during the fellowship period at the Yang Center?

* Evaluation: Clarity, impact and synergy of proposed research, outreach, or engagement activities (if applicable, beyond engagement with training and mentorship program)0/500
5.4 Please provide a timeline of your proposed fellowship duration, indicating what activities you would undertake each month, and the goals you wish to accomplish during your stay at the Yang Center.

* Evaluation: Clarity, impact and synergy of proposed research, outreach, or engagement activities (if applicable, beyond engagement with training and mentorship program)0/500
If you have a image/spreadsheet with your timeline, upload it here.

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6. Please provide the names and contact information for three references who could answer questions about your professional performance. We will only contact references for candidates under strong consideration.
Reference 1 (name, affiliation, and email)
Reference 2 (name affiliation, and email)
Reference 3 (name affiliation, and email)
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Katharine B. Payne Fellows Program in Conservation Bioacoustics

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