Ecological Society of America

Murray F. Buell Award
Murray F. Buell had a long and distinguished record of service and accomplishment in the Ecological Society of America. Among other things, he ascribed great importance to the participation of students in meetings and to excellence in the presentation of papers. To honor his selfless dedication to the younger generation of ecologists, the Murray F. Buell Award for Excellence in Ecology is given to a student for the outstanding oral paper presented at the ESA Annual Meeting.

E. Lucy Braun Award
E. Lucy Braun, an eminent plant ecologist and one of the charter members of the Society, studied and mapped the deciduous forest regions of eastern North America and described them in her classic book, The Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America. To honor her, the E. Lucy Braun Award for Excellence in Ecology is given to a student for the outstanding poster presentation at the ESA Annual Meeting.

• Application for the Buell and Braun Awards MS Word | PDF
• Request for Student Award Judges ^PDF

The application form, abstract, and research justification must be sent by mail, fax, or e mail to

Dr. Anita L. Davelos Baines
Chair of the Student Awards Subcommittee
Email: davelos@panam.edu

The Distinguished Service Citation is given to recognize long and distinguished service to the ESA , to the larger scientific community, and to the larger purpose of ecology in the public welfare.

Recent recipients are Jim Reichman, Jim MacMahon, and Margaret Palmer.

To submit a nomination, contact

Paul Dayton , Chair,
Distinguished Service Citation Subcommittee
Email: pdayton@ucsd.edu.

The Mercer Award is given for an outstanding ecological research paper published by a younger researcher (the lead author must be 40 years of age or younger at the time of publication). If the award is given for a paper with multiple authors, all authors will receive a plaque, and those 40 years of age or younger at the time of publication will share the monetary prize. The paper must have been published in 2006 or 2007 to be eligible for the 2007 award. Nominees may be from any country and need not be ESA members.

Recent recipients include Jean L. Richardson, John Stachowitz, Daniel Bolnick, and Anurag Agrawal.

Nominations should be sent to

Ellen Simms, Chair
Mercer Award Subcommittee
Email: esimms@berkeley.edu

The Eugene P. Odum Award recognizes an ecologist for outstanding work in ecology education. This award was generously endowed by, and named for, the distinguished ecologist Eugene P. Odum. Through teaching, outreach, and mentoring activities, recipients of this award have demonstrated their ability to relate basic ecological principles to human affairs. Nominations recognizing achievements in education at the university, K-12, and public levels are all encouraged.

Recent recipients include Richard Root, James Porter, and Claudia Lewis.

To submit a nomination, contact

Charlene d'Avanzo, Chair
ESA Odum Education Award Subcommittee
Email: cdavanzo@hampshire.edu.

The MacArthur Award is given to an established ecologist in mid-career for meritorious contributions to ecology, in the expectation of continued outstanding ecological research and who generally are within 20 years of receiving the PhD. Nominees may be from any country and need not be ESA members. This award is given in alternate years, and the recipient is invited to address the membership at the Annual Meeting following his/her selection.

Recent recipients include Stephen R. Carpenter, James H. Brown, May Berenbaum, and Alan Hastings.

Nominations consisting of a letter of nomination, up to two supporting letters, and a recent CV should be sent to

The Sustainability Science Award is given to the authors of a scholarly work that makes the greatest contribution to the emerging science of ecosystem and regional sustainability through the integration of ecological and social sciences. One of the most pressing challenges facing humanity is the sustainability of important ecological, social, and cultural processes in the face of changes in the forces that shape ecosystems and regions.

This ESA award is for a single scholarly contribution (book, book chapter, or peer-reviewed journal article) published in the last 5 years. Nominees need not be ESA members and can be of any age, nationality, or place of residence.

Recent recipients are Marten Scheffer and colleagues, Thomas Dietz and colleagues, and the Millenium Assessment Team.

To submit a nomination, please contact

Garry Peterson, Chair
Sustainability Science Award Subcommittee
Email: garry.peterson@mcgill.ca.

The Applied Ecology Section offers travel grants for students presenting papers or posters at the ESA Annual Meetings. The following describes the policies and procedures of the Section on supporting student travel to the Annual Meeting.

Send applications including all supporting material by e-mail to:

Dr. Scott Roberts
Chair, Applied Ecology Section of ESA
Department of Forestry
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, MS 39762-9681
662-325-3044
sroberts@cfr.msstate.edu

The deadline for receipt of applications for the 2009 Annual Meeting in Albuquerque is May 31, 2009. Notification of successful applicants will be made by mid-July.
Eligibility requirements and application requirements are specified below. Applications which do not comply with these specifications will not be considered.

Policy on Support for Student Travel to ESA meetings:

The Applied Ecology Section seeks to support the students in the presentation of their work at the ESA Annual Meeting.

Amount of support: The number and amount of awards will be determined by the section officers and will reflect the availability of funds and the quality of applications received.

Application Process: Applications will be submitted to the Chair of the Applied Section and evaluated by Section officers or a panel of judges that may be appointed by the Section Chair. Criteria for evaluation will include the quality of the work and its relevance to applied ecology. Special attention will be given to papers which link basic and applied ecology. Applications shall consist of a copy of the abstract accepted by the ESA for presentation at the annual meeting, with a brief cover letter from the student describing the application of the work to be presented. A recommendation from the student's advisor shall also be provided. This recommendation can be supplemented by additional letters of reference from other faculty members in the student's home institution, or by members of the student's dissertation or thesis committee. Applications are due by May 31 and award recipients will be notified by mid-July.

Eligibility:  Applicants must be the presenting author of a paper or poster which has been accepted for presentation at the annual meeting. Applicants must be enrolled as graduate or undergraduate students at the time of their application. Students, co-authors, employees, and relatives of current section officers (or judges of applications) are ineligible for this award.

Two travel awards are available to students to support travel to the annual ESA Meeting. Students wishing to apply for an award should forward a copy of their abstract to the Section Chair of LTSS by July 1, 2009.

Application Process:

Send applications including all supporting material by email to the Long-Term Studies Section Chair, Mike Vanni, at vannimj@muohio.edu.
Applications shall consist of:

• a copy of the abstract accepted by ESA for presentation at the annual meeting;
• a cover letter from the student describing the nature of the research to be presented; and
• a letter of recommendation from the student’s advisor. This recommendation can be supplemented by other letters of reference from other faculty members in the student’s home institution, or by members of the student’s dissertation or thesis committee.

The deadline for receipt of applications is July 2, 2009 and successful applicants will be notified of their award by July 16, 2009.
Eligibility:

Any student abstract based on data sets that are at least three years in length is eligible for these awards. Abstracts will be judged by LTSS elected officers and volunteers from the section. Criteria for the awards will be overall quality of the abstract and the degree to which the abstract and research described reflects a long-term perspective as shown by an effective use of long-term data. Applicants must be the presenting author of a paper or poster that has been accepted for presentation at the annual ESA meeting. Applicants must be enrolled as graduate or undergraduate students at the time of their application. Students, co-authors, employees, and relatives of current section officers (or judges of applications) are ineligible for this award.

The Long-Term Studies Section of ESA wishes to support students in the presentation of their research at the ESA Annual Meeting. The amount of support ($250 per individual in 2009), and the number of awards (up to two awards in 2009) will be determined by the section officers on an annual basis, and will reflect the quality of applications received and the level of resources available to the section.

The Paleoecology Section of the Ecological Society of America has established the Edward S. Deevey Award to honor Deevey's efforts and dedication in fostering the highest quality of graduate student research in paleoecology. An award of $300 is given for the best presentation of paleoecological research by a graduate student at the ESA Annual Meeting. Occasionally, a runner-up is also chosen. Paleoecology is defined to include studies that use sedimentary, paleontological, historical, or retrospective archives and proxy records to describe and interpret ecological patterns and processes at all time scales.

A candidate for the award must be the sole or first author of the submitted abstract, and prepare and present himself an oral paper or poster at the ESA Annual Meeting. The candidate must be a graduate student or have completed a masters or doctoral degree not more than 9 months before the presentation. The presentation must describe and research used for the graduate degree; evaluation criteria are similar to those used for the ESA Buell and Braun Awards. A student can apply several times in consecutive years as long as he meets the above qualifications has not won the award before.

Please email or send the completed application form and a copy of your abstract to the section chair:

Kendra McLauchlan
Department of Geography
Kansas State University
118 Seaton Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506

(785) 532-6155 voice
(785) 532-7310 fax
mclauch@ksu.edu
www.botany.wisc.edu/hotchkiss/ESApaleo/

Soil Ecology Section Student Travel Award

The Soil Ecology Section is sponsoring student travel grants to help support attendance at the 2009 ESA meeting. Both undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be both ESA members and current students to be eligible.

• Step 1: Complete and E-mail the following application form to Nancy.Johnson@nau.edu.
• Step 2: Ask your faculty mentor to E-mail a letter of recommendation directly to Nancy.Johnson@nau.edu on your behalf.

Applications are due May 30, 2009

Soil Ecology Section - Best Poster/Best Talk Awards

Each year the Soil Ecology section awards a cash prize recognizing the best student presentation (talk or poster) in soil ecology at the ESA Annual Meeting. Candidates must meet the eligibility requirements for the Buell and Braun awards, but they need not apply to those competitions. Symposium presentations are eligible for this award. The presentation must describe research used for the graduate (or undergraduate) degree; evaluation criteria are similar to those used for the ESA Buell and Braun Awards. A student may apply several times (in different years) as long as he or she meets the qualifications and has not previously won this award. In some years, separate awards may be made for talk and poster presentations, Section budget allowing.

Students apply for the Sectionߡs award by sending an e-mail (with the subject line “ESA SES Student Award”) to the Section Secretary by May 1st stating 1) their interest in being an award candidate that year, 2) that they, or a co-author, are a member of the ESA Soil Ecology Section, and 3) that they are eligible for the Buell and Braun Awards. They must also include or attach a copy of their abstract AND a 250-word or less description of why/how the research presented will advance the field of ecology, with attention to soil ecology. Students who do not submit this statement to the section secretary will NOT be considered for an award. Click here to donload application.

Contact:

Loren Byrne, ESA Soil Ecology Section Secretary
Assistant Professor of Biology
Roger Williams University
One Old Ferry Road
Bristol, RI 02809

Email: lbyrne@rwu.edu
Web: www.esa.org/soilecology/

STUDENT SECTION TRAVEL AWARDS (Domestic/International)

We will award grants to graduate and undergraduate students presenting posters or oral presentations at the meeting. We have awards for students from within and outside of the US. Travel grants will include 5 awards ($150 each) for students from within the US and 4 ($200 each) for students from outside the U.S. Grants will be awarded to graduate and undergraduate students presenting posters or oral presentations at the meeting. The deadline for applications is Friday, May 1, 2009. For the student travel awards application and instructions, click here.

Eligibility:

Awards will be granted only to Student Section members. To become a student section member, check the appropriate box on your ESA membership form when you renew your ESA membership (http://eservices.esa.org) or email membership@esa.org.

Application:

The application includes general information, an essay, and a statement of anticipated travel cost. Please email applications to both Matthew Whiteside (mwhitesi@uci.edu) and or Rob Salguero-Gomez - salguero@sas.upenn.edu with the subject line, “ESA Student Travel Grants.”

Post-award requirements:

Student essays that result in financial support will be submitted to an ESA publication, the ESA blog, or the ESA Student Section website for other students to read and learn from. The Student Section may arrange a forum for all of the essays to be published.

ESA OUSTANDING STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS (Undergrad/Graduate)

Awards for outstanding student achievements complement the ESA Buell and Braun awards by including the achievements of undergraduates as well as recognizing student contributions to ecology from outside the ESA community. The winners of the awards for best undergraduate student oral presentation, best undergraduate student poster presentation, and excellence in undergraduate and graduate research via publication will receive a monetary prize. Best undergraduate student oral and poster presentations and nominations for outstanding publications by graduate and undergraduate student ESA members will be judged by the Student Section board or other appropriate judges according to criteria developed by the Student Section board members. Recognition and prizes for the 2009 recipients will be presented at the newly formed Student Section Awards Ceremony at the Albuquerque annual meeting.

The ESA Student Section is pleased to sponsor the first Outstanding Student Research in Ecology Awards program. We will award two students, cash prizes for excellence in research via an outstanding publication. There are awards for both UNDERGRADUATE and GRADUATE research, so don't miss out! The deadline for applications is Sunday, May 31, 2009.

Eligibility and Nomination:

At the time of the nomination deadline (Sunday, May 31st), the paper must be published in a peer reviewed journal (2007-2009) and the nominee must be an undergraduate student, a graduate student, or have received a Ph.D. within the past two years. The nominee must be first author of the paper and be a member in good standing of ESA's Student Section at the time of nomination. Awards will be granted only to Student Section members. To become a student section member, check the appropriate box on your ESA membership form when you renew your ESA membership (http://eservices.esa.org) or email membership@esa.org. Self-nominations and nominations by colleagues are welcomed.

Selection Criteria:

Applications will be reviewed by an Awards Committee appointed by the Officers of the Student Section. Papers will be judged based upon the paper’s contribution to the field, including originality, study design and impact. Nomination packets should include:

• a copy of the paper;
• a brief letter describing the impact of the paper on the field and standing the date of completion of the degree if the nominee is no longer a student. ***Make sure to indicate whether the research was completed during undergraduate or graduate tenure***;
• a letter of support from the major professor that also confirms the nominee’s eligibility for the award; and
• a CV from the nominee.

Submitting Applications:

Nomination packets should be sent (by May 31th) electronically as PDFs to the Student Section's Secretary, Johanna Delgado-Acevedo, at (johannadelgado@yahoo.com) with the phrase "Outstanding Student Awards" in the subject line. If you have questions, email Matthew Whiteside (mwhitesi@uci.edu) or Rob Salguero-Gomez - salguero@sas.upenn.edu.

ECO-ART STUDENT CHOICE AWARDS

The Eco-Arts Exhibition is the umbrella of three student art festivals (eco-photo, eco-poetry, and eco-film festivals) of the Ecological Society of America. This exhibition is designed to honor outstanding student contributions to ecological science through photography, poetry, and film that describes various aspects of ecology. The exhibition contest will culminate with a two-hour event at the 2009 ESA annual meeting in Albuquerque, NM that will include the award ceremony and the display of the winning art projects. The recipients of the awards will receive free registrations to the 2009 ESA annual meeting (chosen by a judging panel) and/or a monetary prize carried by the ESA Student Section Choice Award. Ultimately, we hope to increase student participation within ESA and to promote the awareness and understanding of ecological science through the arts within the scientific community and the public.

Structure:

The three contests (eco-photo, eco-poetry, and eco-film) will begin with a two and half month-long call for submissions from ESA members who are students (from high school to post-doctoral stage, both included). The contests will begin in January 10th 2008 and the call for submissions will end on April 1^st 2009. From April - May, the ESA judging panel will select the best photos, poems, and films. The members of the Student Section will vote for the Student Section’s Choice Award for each art discipline. General requirements for all three festivals:

• Eligible submitters must be ESA members with student status (from high school to post-doctoral stages, both included), and ESA Student Section members (it is only $5/year. Contact the membership officer (memberships@esa.org) if you are not yet a member of the ESA Student Section.
• Several ESA student members can collaborate in the same art project, but the registration prize will always be for one person.
• Submitted art projects missing the required information or not complying with the requirements described here or below in the appropriate festival will be automatically disqualified from the contest.

Judging Panel, Art Project Selection, and Prizes:

A judging panel will be formed for each art discipline contest, composed of 6-12 judges, including active members from several sections within the Ecological Society of America (ESA Student Section, ESA student members, representatives from the ESA standing committees - Science Committee, EHRC, PAC - members of the Education Section, SEEDS members, Millennium conference program committee, etc), as well as specialists in the field of photography, poetry or film, as needed. As judges, no member of the panel will participate in any of the three art contests. The panel will decide the best photos, poems and films. Honorable mentions are possible should the members of the panel decide so. The panel will select the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place and potential honorable mentions by July 1st, and will communicate the decision to the winners shortly after that, so travel arrangements can be made with enough time to attend the festival. Travel arrangements must be done at own expenses of the winners. The ESA Student Section Choice Awards will be revealed during the award ceremony at the ESA 2009 annual meeting.

The first, second and third place winners of each art discipline will obtain win a full or partial free registration of the 2009 ESA annual meeting (reimbursement of $150, $75, or $25, respectively) together with a commemorative award plaque. Honorable mentions are possible if the quality of the finalist projects are worth such a distinction. Prize for honorable mentions is TBA, and will depend on their quality.

Officers of the Student Section not taking part of the judging panels will choose the best art projects in each contest, which will be presented to the members of the Student Section. Student Section members will then be able to vote for their favorite eco-photo, eco-poem and eco-film and the chosen art projects will be awarded the ESA Student Section’s Choice Award: $100 each.
The awards, as well as the winning art projects will be displayed at the ESA annual meeting 2009 in Albuquerque, NM, and later on in the ESA Student Section website.

Contact Information:

General aspects of the Eco-Art Exhibit: Rob Salguero-Gomez - salguero@sas.upenn.edu
Award ceremony: Jenny Talbot - jtalbot@uci.edu
General aspects of the ESA Student Section: Matthew Whiteside (chair) - mwhitesi@uci.edu, Johanna Delgado-Acevedo (secretary) - johannadelgado@yahoo.com

For additional information on each individual project/category’s guidelines, please visit the Student Section’s 2009 ESA Eco-Arts Exhibition website: http://www.esa.org/students/section/?q=node/91.

With an ESA Long-range Planning Grant, the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Section will be able to support students, promote multiple approaches to ecology, and increase the diversity of ecologists at this year’s Annual Meeting.  The TEK Section is offering five awards in three categories: TEK Student Travel (2); TEK Mentor Recognition (2); and TEK Community Service (1).  Criteria for these awards are as follows:

TEK Student Member Travel Awards (2)

• TEK Section student member ($250) - for TEK Section student member who is presenting at the ESA Annual Meeting on TEK-related topic.
• Indigenous student ($250) - for an outstanding Indigenous student with an interest in ecology to attend/present at the ESA Annual Meeting.

TEK Mentor Recognition Awards (2)

• Research Mentor ($250) - for exemplary research mentoring of the ecological community in applying TEK/LEK to ecology;
• Cultural Mentor ($250) - for exemplary cultural mentoring of students and early-career faculty in the field of ecology.

TEK Community Service Award (1)

• Local Community ($200) - for a local community member who has distinguished him/herself working with local community on ecological issues.

Inquiries, applications and nominations for these awards should be addressed to

Dr. Mimi E. Lam
TEK Section Chair
University of British Columbia
Fisheries Centre
2202 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6T 1Z4

Ph:  (604) 822-3843
Fax:  (604) 822-8934

Email: m.lam@fisheries.ubc.ca

Web: www.esa.org/tek/

In addition to the above specific award criteria, applications and nominations should address how the candidates further the mission of the ESA TEK Section:

• to promote the understanding, dissemination and respectful use of traditional ecological knowledge in ecological research, application and education;
• to encourage education in traditional ecological knowledge;
• to stimulate research which incorporates the traditional knowledge and participation of indigenous people;
• to increase participation by indigenous people in the ESA;
• to foster understanding of indigenous and local knowledge in relationship to place;
• and to facilitate communication among people with diverse ways of knowing, both within ESA and between ESA and other communities.

Applications and nominations should consist of a cover letter addressing the specific award criteria in relation to the mission of the TEK Section, as well as any supporting documents, such as a copy of presentation abstract accepted for the ESA 2009 Annual Meeting, summary of ecological research and interests; examples of research and cultural mentoring effectiveness; demonstrations of local community service in ecology; and recommendation letters.  Preference for the recognition and service awards will be given to those that will attend the ESA 2009 Annual Meeting.  Deadline for receipt of applications and nominations is June 1, 2009.  Successful applicants and award recipients will be notified by July 1, 2009.

The Ton Damman Award recognizes the lifetime dedication of Ton Damman to the advancement of Vegetation Science. While his professional career revolved around his research on peatland ecology, biogeography, plant community classification and ecology, his teaching focused on broader plant ecological issues. Working with his students and other colleagues, he approached his research with unparalleled commitment and untiring zeal. He was an ardent conservationist of wildlands and biological diversity. His love for the out-of-doors served as a model for the many students and professionals with whom he came into contact.

The Ton Damman Award will be given to a graduate student or very recent post-graduate scientist for the best oral presentation in Vegetation Science at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America. Students competing for the Damman Award must meet all the criteria for ESA’s Buell Award. A candidate for this award need not be a member of the Vegetation Section, but does need to be senior author of the abstract and give the oral presentation at the annual meeting. The recipient will receive a framed certificate and cash award.

For more information on the award or on the application process or guidelines, contact:

Loretta Battaglia, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Department of Plant Biology

Email: lbattaglia@plant.siu.edu

Web: www.unco.edu/biology/sfranklin/VegWeb/

This year, the Southwestern Chapter has two travel awards ($250 each) that are available to students to support travel to the annual ESA Meeting. Students wishing to apply for an award should forward a copy of their abstract to the chair of the SW Chapter by June 1, 2009. Successful applicants will be notified of their award by July 1, 2009.

Applications will be judged by SW Chapter elected officers and volunteers from the section. Criteria for the awards will be overall quality of the abstract and the degree to which the abstract and research described reflect ecological issues relevant to the American Southwest.  

Please send applications, including all supporting material, by email to:

Debra Peters
Chair, Southwestern Chapter of the ESA
Research scientist, USDA ARS, Jornada Exp. Range
Las Cruces, NM  88003-0003 USA

Phone: 575-646-2777
Email: debpeter@nmsu.edu

Applications shall consist of:

• a copy of the abstract accepted by ESA for presentation at the annual meeting;
• a cover letter from the student describing the nature, importance, and relevance of the research to be presented;
• a letter of recommendation from the student's advisor.
• This recommendation can be supplemented by other letters of reference from other faculty members or by members of the student's dissertation or thesis committee.
• The deadline for receipt of applications is 1 June.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be the presenting author of a paper or poster that has been accepted for presentation at the annual ESA meeting. Applicants must be enrolled as graduate or undergraduate students at the time of their application. Students, co-authors, employees, and relatives of current section officers (or judges of applications) are ineligible for this award.