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Awards — ESA Physiological Ecology Section

Two separate awards recognize significant advancements by students in physiological ecology; entrants are judged on the rigor, creativity, importance, and presentation of the research. See below for eligibility requirements and some tips on effective paper and poster presentation.

The winners of all awards will receive a cash prize, and the winners and honorable mentions will also receive a complimentary book of their choice from CRC Press. In addition, we have a travel award for students presenting papers or posters in the field of physiological ecology at the ESA Annual Meeting. Thanks so much to the Billings family who created the Billings Fund in 1998, an annual contribution from an anonymous donor funding numerous travel grants, annual contributions from New Phytologist and LiCor, and book contributions from CRC Press. These contributions go a long way to supporting our Section’s awards competition and efforts to promote and support student excellence in physiological ecology.

To learn more about these awards and their history, see:

Physiological Ecology Section 2018 Presentation Awards

As many of us are starting to think about the 2019 Annual meeting, we want to take a moment to congratulate our presentation award winners from 2018.

We are thrilled to have an opportunity to recognize these outstanding young scientists and to highlight their contributions to the discipline.

Congratulations!

  Mallory Barnes

Mallory Barnes (U. Arizona) W. D. and S. M. Billings Award
Best oral presentation by a graduate student
"Upscaling semi-arid ecosystem carbon fluxes using spaceborne imagery: A machine learning approach"

  Aaron Baumgardner

Aaron Baumgardner (California State U., Bakersfield) New Phytologist Award
Best poster presentation by a graduate student
"Ecological effects of drought with a focus on intra-annual environmental factors: A case study focused on woody shrubs of Southern California chaparral"

  Fiona Soper

Fiona Soper (Cornell U.) Plant, Cell & Environment Award
Best oral presentation by a postdoctoral scholar
"Nitrogen status does not predict phosphorus acquisition strategies in tropical trees"

 


Billings Award

The W.D. and S.M. Billings award is made to the graduate student whose oral presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America represents a significant advancement in physiological ecology. The award will be given to a student whose paper is judged to offer the rigor, creativity, importance, and presentation that sets a new standard in the discipline. The winner receives a $500 check from the Physiological Ecology section. The award recognizes the life-time contributions by its namesakes, Dwight and Shirley Billings, to physiological ecology. Dwight built the foundation for physiological ecology in North America and provided leadership for the field throughout his illustrious career. Together, Dwight and Shirley have shown a deep regard for the interests and training of graduate students in this dynamic component of ecology.

Eligibility requirements for the Billings and New Phytologist Poster awards:

  1. The student entrant must be first author and presenter for the paper or poster.
  2. "Student" is defined as undergraduate or graduate student who is currently enrolled in a degree program or who finished his/her degree within the last 12 months.
  3. The student must be a Physiological Ecology section member at the time of the presentation. Not a member of the Physiological Ecology section? No problem -- it's easy to join. Just go to the ESA membership site, and on the application form select "Physiological Ecology Section". Annual membership dues are $5. You can join us at any time, but you must be a member of ESA. If you're not already a member of ESA, you can use the link above to join ESA at the same time. ESA memberships run January-December, regardless of when you join.
  4. Past winners may not enter the same competition again. Students who received an honorable mention can compete again in the same competition.

To apply:

Please send Jia Hu (jiahu@email.arizona.edu) the following information by June 15, 2019:

  1. Information on the student entrant: name, mailing address, email address, phone number, College/University association, and student status.
  2. Presentation title and complete list of authors.
  3. Presentation time, location, and session title.

Past winners:

The Billings Award was created with an initial gift from Shirley Billings. Further donations are needed and can be sent to the address below. Thank you for any contributions.

Billings Award
Ecological Society of America
1707 H Street, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20006

The New Phytologist Trust is pleased to announce that it will continue the commitment begun in 2000 to contribute $500 annually towards the Billings Award. New Phytologist, the broad spectrum plant science journal, was established in 1902 by the pioneer ecologist Arthur Tansley. It is a not-for-profit organization. The spirit of the Billings Award is very consistent with the goals of the New Phytologist Trust - to promote education and research in plant sciences. More information about activities of the New Phytologist Trust and links to the journal New Phytologist can be found at www.newphytologist.com.


New Phytologist Poster Award

This is given to the student with the best physiological ecology poster presentation at the annual ESA meeting. The winner receives a $500 check from the Physiological Ecology section. In 2008 the Section renamed the “Best Poster award” to the “New Phytologist Poster award” in recognition of New Phytologist’s contribution to the Billings Fund, which provides a cash prize to both the Billings award winner for the best oral presentation and the New Phytologist award winner for the best poster.

Eligibility requirements for the Billings and New Phytologist Poster awards:

  1. The student entrant must be first author and presenter for the paper or poster.
  2. "Student" is defined as undergraduate or graduate student who is currently enrolled in a degree program or who finished his/her degree within the last 12 months.
  3. The student must be a Physiological Ecology section member at the time of the presentation. Not a member of the Physiological Ecology section? No problem -- it's easy to join. Just go to the ESA membership site, and on the application form select "Physiological Ecology Section". Annual membership dues are $5. You can join us at any time, but you must be a member of ESA. If you're not already a member of ESA, you can use the link above to join ESA at the same time. ESA memberships run January-December, regardless of when you join.
  4. Past winners may not enter the same competition again. Students who received an honorable mention can compete again in the same competition.

To apply:

Please send Jia Hu (jiahu@email.arizona.edu) the following information by June 15, 2019:

  1. Applicant information: name, mailing address, email address, College/University association, and date of degree.
  2. Presentation title and complete list of authors.
  3. Presentation time, location, and session title.

Past winners:


Plant, Cell & Environment Postdoctoral Award

This award, from 2011 to 2018, was made to a postdoctoral scholar whose oral presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America represented a significant advancement in physiological ecology.

Past winners:


Student Travel Awards

The ESA Physiological Ecology Section offers five to ten (depending on funding availability) travel grants for students presenting papers or posters in the field of physiological ecology at the ESA Annual Meeting. The winner of each grant will receive up to $500 to help support attending the meeting.

Eligibility

  1. "Student" is defined as undergraduate or graduate student who is currently enrolled in a degree program or who finished his/her degree within the last 12 months.
  2. The student must be a Physiological Ecology section member at the time of the presentation. To join, go to http://eservices.esa.org. On the application form scroll down to "Section & Chapter Affiliation" and select "Physiological Ecology Section". Annual membership dues are $5. You can join us at any time, but you must be a member of ESA.
  3. Award recipients must also enter either the Billings or New Phytologist poster award competitions.

To apply

Please send Jia Hu (jiahu@email.arizona.edu) the following information by June 15, 2019:

  1. The student’s current contact information and anticipated date of degree
  2. The title and abstract of talk or poster
  3. A short statement explaining why the student wants to attend this ESA meeting (300 word max)
  4. A short letter in support of the student from an advisor (sent separately from above materials)

Decision: A panel of scientists representing a broad array of disciplines within physiological ecology will then evaluate the submissions and decide upon the winning entries. Travel grant recipients will be notified by June 30, 2017.

The student travel awards were instituted in 2010 after a raffle fundraiser at the 2009 meeting and a generous donation from an anonymous donor. We had 13 applicants, and a panel of five judges selected winners based on (1) the student’s research and on (2) the potential for attending the conference to contribute to the student’s professional development. Five students received $500 each to help offset the cost of attending the ESA meetings; winners were introduced at the Physiological Ecology Section Mixer in Pittsburgh. Upon learning about the five awardees, an anonymous donor was very impressed and agreed to donate $2500 each year for the next five years to support student travel to the ESA meetings.

Student Travel Award winners:

2018:
Mallory Barnes, University of Arizona
Kelsey Carter, Michigan Technological University
Maegan Gagne, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Gaurav Kandlikar, University of California, Los Angeles
Kelsey Martinez, Syracuse University
Jennifer Peters, Western Sydney University
Elsa Schwartz, Michigan Technological University

2017:
Haoran Zhou, University of Pennsylvania
Maegan Gagne, University of Wisconsin
Gerard Sapes, University of Montana
Beth Fallon, University of Minnesota
Brianna Glase, St. Mary's College of Maryland
Allison Matzelle, Northeastern University
Natalie Aguirre, Pepperdine University
Benton Neil Taylor, Columbia University
Daniel E. Winkler, University of California, Irvine
Victoria M. Woods, California State University, Fullerton

2016:
Drew Peltier, Northern Arizona University, Department of Biological Sciences
Harmandeep Sharma, Idaho State University, Biological Sciences
Sarah Tepler-Drobnitch, University of California, Santa Cruz, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Danielle Marias, Oregon State University
Jake Grossman, University of Minnesota, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Jessica Guo, Northern Arizona University, Department of Biological Sciences
Katherine Baker, University of Idaho, Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences
Camilla Medeiros, University of California, Los Angeles- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

2015:
Leander Anderegg, University of Washington
Megan Bartlett, UCLA
Anna Carter, Victoria University of Wellington
Stephen Klosterman, Harvard University
Helen Holmlund, Oklahoma Christian University
Gail McCormick, Pennsylvania State University
Eric Riddell, Clemson University
Jessica Valdovinos-Ayala, California State University, Bakersfield

2014:
Heather Kropp, Arizona State University
Alexandria Pivovaroff, University of California, Riverside
Jennifer Wilkening, University of Colorado
Alice Broadhead, North Carolina State University
Marth Brabec, Boise State University
Chelsea Griffin, Texas Tech University
Marta Percolla, California State University

2013:
Juan C. Alvarez-Yepiz, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
Adam P. Coble, Michigan Technological University
Sean T. Michaletz, University of Arizona
Fiona Soper, Cornell University
Elizabeth Wilson, Texas A&M University

2012:
Adam Coble
Benjamin Blonder
Elizabeth Waring
Heather Tran
Jennifer Albertine
Jennifer Wilkening
Kirsten Coe
Nicholas Smith
Sarah Taylor

2011:
Benjamin Blonder, University of Arizona, PhD candidate
Greg Goldsmith, UC Berkeley, PhD candidate
Brandon McNellis, Western Oregon University, undergraduate
Olivia Niziolek, University of Illinois, MS candidate
John Whiteman, University of Wyoming, PhD candidate

2010:
Selita Ammondt, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
Colleen Butler, Tufts University, Medford, MA
Danica Lombardozzi, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Daisha Ortega, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA
Claire Wainwright, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA


Tips for Presenting Talks and Posters

For an enlightening discussion of what makes a good poster, check out the American Society of Plant Biology poster site. See also the following:

Designing effective posters

Physiological Ecology Section home