
2019 Tibor T. Polgar Fellows with their mentors
Applications for a Polgar Fellowship should include:

The deadline for 2022 Tibor T. Polgar Undergraduate Fellowship Applications has passed.
The Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship program is a student research program of the Hudson River Foundation (HRF) conducted in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Named in honor of Dr. Tibor T. Polgar, a major participant in the early planning and development of the Foundation, this program provides a summer grant ($5,500 for each fellowship) and research funds (up to $1,500) for up to eight undergraduate students to conduct research on the Hudson River, under the guidance of a faculty mentor (mentors to receive a $1,000 honorarium).
Beginning in 2022, the Polgar Fellowship will be open to undergraduate students only. Students beginning their junior or senior year in the Fall of 2022 are encouraged to apply.
The objective of the program is to enhance opportunities for students to conduct scientific and public policy research with a specific focus on projects studying the Hudson River, its watershed, and the people who live there. A primary goal of the program is to introduce and expose students to the research process through a career-stage appropriate, summer research experience, guided by strong mentoring. The Foundation therefore encourages all interested students, including those with no prior research experience, to apply.
The 2022 program:
Application Requirements and Procedures
Projects must be relevant to the Hudson River and Watershed but may approach those subjects from a variety of disciplines. Appropriate topics include: studies of the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the River; or examinations of the social, economic, public policy, and environmental justice issues related to the River and Watershed. Projects must be designed to be completed no later than September 2022, allowing for submission of the final written report November 2022. Students will be expected to attend an orientation, mid-term progress, and final reports meeting; they are also required to submit a final written report due November 2022.
The Role of the Mentor
Because of the training and educational aspects of this program, each potential fellow must be sponsored by a primary mentor. The mentor must be willing to commit sufficient time for supervision of the research, to review fellow’s draft and final reports, and to attend the orientation and final report meetings with their students. Mentors will receive a stipend of $1,000. We ask all prospective mentors to read a brief description of our goals for the Fellowship and a mentor’s responsibilities. We strongly encourage potential mentors to contact the Foundation prior to the student submitting an application.
HRF is committed to serving the diverse communities of the Hudson River and to facilitating an ongoing and inclusive dialogue with scientists, managers, policy makers, other stakeholders, and the general public to address the environmental and societal challenges facing the community of the Hudson River and Watershed. We seek to enhance this work by supporting researchers and students, with the unique and varied backgrounds, circumstances, needs, and perspectives that reflect the diversity of our community.
The Hudson River Foundation and the NYS DEC HRNERR awarded seven Polgar Fellowships in 2021.
Nicole Steinback , SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry: The Outreach of the Latinx Community in Order to Promote the Preservation of the Hudson River Estuary. Supervisors: Valerie A. Luzadis and Rebecca Houser
Royall McMahon Ward , Fordham University: Proposal to Explore the Possible Link of Microplastic Exchange Between the American Horseshoe Crab and the Western Hemisphere Shorebirds through Horseshoe Crab Eggs in Jamaica Bay. Supervisor: Mark Botton
Emma Butzler , Marist College: Understanding the Geologic and Economic Controls on Drain Field Effectiveness of Septic Systems in Hudson River Tributaries. Supervisor: Zion Klos
Luana Chociai , New Jersey City University: Examining the Interference of Fouling Organisms on Crassostrea virginica Reproduction and Health. Supervisor: Allison M. Fitzgerald
Maximillian Brown , Queens College, CUNY: Comparing phytoplankton assemblage responses to nitrogen form following COVID-19 stay-at-home orders from the East River to Long Island Sound. Supervisor: Dianne Greenfield
Ashley Smith-Krudener , Queens College, CUNY: Investigating the Influence of Sediment Resuspension on the Bacterial Water Quality of the Harlem River. Supervisor: Gregory O’Mullan
Beryl Kahn , Graduate Center of CUNY: Effects of Coastal Acidification on Jamaica Bay Salt Marsh Nutrient Cycling. Supervisor: Chester B. Zarnoch
Copies of previous Polgar Fellowship Program annual reports can be found here.