Proposal deadline: Monday, February 22, 2010

TIBOR T. POLGAR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship program is a research program conducted jointly by the Hudson River Foundation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Named in honor of the late Dr. Tibor T. Polgar, a major contributor to the early development of the Foundation, this program provides a summertime grant ($3,800 for each fellowship) and limited research funds (maxiumum of $1000) for up to eight college students (both undergraduate and graduate) to conduct research on the Hudson River. The objectives of the program are to gather important information on all aspects of the River and to train students in conducting estuarine studies and public policy research. Polgar Fellowships may be awarded for studies anywhere within the tidal Hudson estuary from New York Harbor to the Federal Dam at Troy, New York, including the four marshes of the National Estuarine Research Reserve (Stockport Flats, the Tivoli Bays, Iona Island Marsh, and Piermont Marsh).

Because of the training and educational aspects of this program, each potential fellow must be sponsored by a primary advisor. The advisor must be willing to commit sufficient time for supervision of the research and to attend at least one meeting to review the progress of the research. Advisors will receive a stipend of $500.

Application Procedures:

Applications for a Polgar Fellowship should include:

  • A letter of interest in the program;
  • A short description (4-6 pages) of the research project, including a statement of its significance;
  • A timetable for completion of the research;
  • An estimate of the cost of supplies, travel, etc.;
  • A letter of support from the student's advisor; and
  • The applicant's curriculum vitae.

Applications, in electronic PDF format, for Polgar Fellowships must be received by the Foundation by 5:00 pm, Monday, February 22, 2010. The electronic copy of the application should be sent in one PDF file to info@hudsonriver.org. with the subject heading "Polgar Proposal Submittal." One original copy, postmarked no later than Monday, February 22, 2010, must be sent to:

Polgar Fellowship Committee
Hudson River Foundation
17 Battery Place, Suite 915
New York, NY 10004.

Letters of support may be submitted separately.

If you have questions, or if you wish to discuss research ideas or to acquire copies of previous Polgar Fellowship Program annual reports, contact Helena Andreyko at 212-483-7667.

**Successul applicants will be notified of their fellowship awards by April 15, 2010.**

2009 Tibor T. Polgar Fellowships

The Hudson River Foundation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation awarded seven Polgar Fellowships in 2009.

  • Environmental Change in the Hudson Valley as Recorded by Iona Marsh, NERR Wetland, Cleo Chou, Columbia University; Supervisor: Dorothy Peteet, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory
  • Effectiveness of Intensive Rotational Sheep Grazing as a Control on the Spread of Persicaria perfoliata, Caroline Girard, University at Albany, State University of New York; Supervisor: Gary Kleppel, University at Albany, State University of New York
  • The Ecology of Wrack along Hudson River Shorelines: Decomposition Rates and Use by Invertebrates, Cornelia Harris, University at Albany, State University of New York; Supervisor: David Strayer, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
  • Population Structure of Winter Flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) in the Hudson River Estuary Investigated Through Otolith Microchemistry, George Jackman, Queens College, City University of New York; Supervisors: John Waldman, Queens College, City University of New York and Karin Limburg, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry
  • Demographic Analysis of the Jamaica Bay Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) Population: Implications for Survival in an Urban Habitat, Alexandra Kanonik, Hofstra University, Supervisor: Russell Burke, Hofstra University
  • Habitat Competition Between the American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) and Crayfish (Native Orconectes limosus, and Invasive O. rusticus), Sarah Mount, Bard College; Supervisors: Catherine O’Reilly, Bard College and David Strayer, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
  • Evaluating the Effects of Nest Protectors for Turtle Conservation, Shahriar Rahman, Brooklyn College, City University of New York; Supervisor: Russell Burke, Hofstra University

Past Tibor T. Polgar Fellowships

Recent past reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship program are listed below, while older reports are found here. Download the entire report or particular sections as PDF files.

    Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program, 2008 - David Yozzo, Sarah Fernald, and Helena Andreyko, editors
  1. Evidence for a Tsunami Generated by an Impact Event in the New York Metropolitan Area Approximately 2300 Years Ago - Katherine Cagen and Dallas Helen Abbott
  2. Gastropods of the Hudson River Shoreline: Subtidal, Intertidal, and Upland Communities - Thomas W. Coote and David Strayer
  3. Capturing the Nutrient Overenrichment-Eutrophication-Hypoxia Cycle at Newton Creek - M. Elias Dueker and Gregory O’Mullan
  4. Feeding Habits and the Effects of Prey Morphology on Pellet Production in Double-crested Cormorants, Phalacrocorax auritus auritus - Colin Grubel and John Waldman
  5. Genetic, Morphological and Ecological Relationships Among Hudson Valley and a Massachusetts Population of the Clam Shrimp, Caenestheriella gynecia – Jonelle Orridge, John Waldman, and Robert Schmidt
  6. Did the Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) Alter the Thermal Balance of the Hudson River? - David Seekell and Michael L. Pace
  7. Cohort Structure, Growth, and Energy Dynamics of Juvenile Bluefish in the Hudson River Estuary - David G. Stormer and Francis Juanes
  8. Effects of Surface Roughness on Ecological Function: Implications for Engineered Structures in the Hudson River Shore Zone - Amy M. Villamagna, David Strayer, and Stuart Findlay
    Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program, 2007 - Catherine A. McGlynn and John R. Waldman, editors
  1. Significance of Estuarine Hypoxia to Altered Nutrient Cycling and Toxic Nitrite Accumulation - Sarah L. McGrath and Gregory O’Mullan
  2. Measurements of Enterococci Bacteria in the Hudson River: Environmental Health Issues and Policy Recommendations for Combined Sewer Overflow - Suzanne Young and Peter Bower
  3. Effectiveness of Riparian Wetlands in Improving Water Quality in an Urban Stream - Christine M. Vanderlan and George R. Robinson
  4. New Tools for Assessing the Exposure of Phthalate Esters in the Lower Hudson Estuary - Anne C. Ellefson and Bruce J. Brownawell
  5. Applying an Effect-Directed Strategy to Identify Previously Unrecognized Toxic Chemicals in Hudson River Sediments - Sara J. Lupton, Diana S. Aga, and Troy D. Wood
  6. Assimilation and Subcellular Distribution of Dietary Hg by Grass Shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, Collected Along an Environmental Impact Gradient - David R. Seebaugh and William G. Wallace
  7. Possible Effects of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals on Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) from Jamaica Bay, NY - Erin E. Horn and Russell L. Burke
  8. Fish Species-Habitat Associations in New York’s Great Swamp - Chris Cotroneo and David J. Yozzo
    Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program, 2006 - John R. Waldman and William C. Nieder, editors
  1. The Upside-Down Hudson River Estuary: Evidence of 14C-depleted Seaward End-member OC Source Fueling pCO2 Super-saturation in an Urbanized Estuary - David R. Griffith and Peter A. Raymond
  2. Ecological Stoichiometry of the Salt Marsh: Si:N Ratios and Effects on the Algal Community - Cheryl Whritenour and Kimberly L. Schulz
  3. Effects of Road Salt Pollution on the Mayfly Tricorythodes - Justin Halsey and Peter Groffman
  4. Population and Migration of Banded Killifish in Tivoli South Bay, Hudson River, NY - Alec Schmidt and Robert E. Schmidt
  5. The Effect of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) on Song Production of the Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) - Sara DeLeon and André Dhondt
  6. An Estimate of Gene Flow in Hudson River and Jamaica Bay Grass Shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) and Sand Shrimp (Crangon septemspinosa) - Manusha Phoolbosseea and Kathleen A. Nolan
  7. Dietary Habits of Diamondback Terrapin Malaclemys terrapin in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, New York - Rafael Sierra and Russell Burke
  8. The Hudson River Watershed Management Regime: An Inventory and Analysis of Organizational Stakeholders - William G. Dalton, Jr., Shawn Dalton, and Reid McLean
    Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program, 2005 - William C. Nieder and John R. Waldman, editors
  1. Hydrological Exchange Processes in Hudson River Tidal Wetlands - Alicia S. Arrigoni, Stuart Findlay, and Klement Tockner
  2. Summer Microbial Populations in the Lower Hudson River Estuary and their Relationship to Dissolved Organic Nutrients - M.E. Dueker and Raymond Sambrotto
  3. Significance of Small Impoundments to American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) - Jacqueline Anderson and Robert E. Schmidt
  4. Development of an Upper Hudson River Estuary GIS-Based Fish Data Resource - Megan P. O'Connor and Francis Juanes
  5. Dietary Habits of Diamondback Terrapins, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, New York - Rafael Sierra and Russell Burke
  6. A Study of Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination in the Diamondback Terrapins of Jamaica Bay - Amanda L. Widrig and Russell L. Burke
  7. Using Telemetry to Assess Foraging Ecology and Habitat Use of Black-Crowned Night Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) in New York City - Andrew James Bernick and Richard R. Veit
  8. Quantification and Characterization of Recreational Paddling on Tivoli Bays and Constitution Marsh - Kevin A. Grieser and Shawn E. Dalton
    Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program, 2004 -John R. Waldman and William C. Nieder, editors
  1. Assessment of Genetic Variation in Phragmites australis Populations Along the Hudson River Using Inter Simple Sequence (ISSR) Analysis - Michele Maltz and Joseph Stabile
  2. Effects of Light on Microcystin Synthetase Gene Expression in the Toxic Cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa in a Controlled Field Study - Heidi Langer Atkinson and Ellen Braun-Howland
  3. Observations on the Biology of the Spinycheek Crayfish Orconectes limosus Associated with Water Chestnut in the Tidal Hudson River - Michael Bednarski, Karin Limburg, and Robert E. Schmidt
  4. Soniferous Fishes in Tidal Freshwater Tivoli Bay of the Hudson River - Katie A. Anderson, Rodney Rountree, and Francis Juanes
  5. Dispersal and Colonization of Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri in a Hudson River Tidal Marsh Cove - Maggie Fung and Jeffrey S. Levinton
  6. Salinity Preferences of Hudson River Adult Male Blue Crabs Callinectes sapidus - Angie W. Cornwell and Steven H. Jury
  7. Foraging Ecology of Black-Crowned Night Herons Nycticorax nycticorax in the New York City Area - Andrew James Bernick and Richard R. Veit
  8. Absorption of Dietary Cd by Grass Shrimp, Palaemonetes spp., Collected Along an Environmental Impact Gradient - David R. Seebaugh and William G. Wallace

Tibor T. Polgar 25th Anniversary Celebration

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Millbrook, NY

Since 1984, The Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship program, co-administered by the Hudson River Foundation and the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, has provided support for a summer of research to graduate and undergraduate students who wish to study selected aspects of the physical, chemical, biological, and public policy realms of the Hudson River Estuary.

This year we are reaching out to our friends in the Hudson Valley to join us for the Fellows’ 2009 final presentations and a wine and cheese reception to celebrate 25 years of student research on the Hudson River ecosystem. Former Fellows Dr. Karin Limburg, SUNY College of Environment Science and Forestry, and Mr. David Nemazie, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, will join the 2009 Fellows to discuss their research and the importance of the Polgar Fellowship in shaping their own careers.

Download the agenda

Download the 25th Anniversary Directory