Botanical Society of America Awards 2004

We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2004 awards provided by the Botanical Society of America. Here we provide recognition for outstanding efforts and contributions to the science of botany. We thank you for your support of these programs.

Distinguished Fellow of the Botanical Society of America

The "Distinguished Fellow of the Botanical Society of America" is the highest honor our Society bestows. Each year, the award committee solicits nominations, evaluates candidates, and selects those to receive an award. Awardees are chosen based on their outstanding contributions to the mission of our scientific Society. The committee identifies recipients who have demonstrated excellence in basic research, education, public policy, or who have provided exceptional service to the professional botanical community, or who may have made contributions to a combination of these categories. Based on these stringent criteria, the 2004 Distinguished Fellows of the Botanical Society of America are:

Dr. Harry (Jack) T. Horner, Iowa State University

Dr. Horner’s research has primarily focused on the cytology and development of anthers and pollen and on calcium oxalate crystal formation in plants. His research has been innovative, ground-breaking, and sustained.

His “heroic service” and numerous contributions to BSA over many years are greatly appreciated. Through his participation on committees, as Chair of the Financial Advisory Board, and in elected office (two terms as Treasurer and President), he has been an agent of many positive changes in our Society.

Along with this impressive research productivity and service, Dr. Horner has been a dedicated and effective teacher. His peers note that he strives for “the highest standards of performance imaginable,” and that he is a “model of clarity and rigorous scholarship,” as well as “an exemplary scholar, citizen and an all-around a good guy.”

Dr. James L. Seago, Jr., State University of New York (Oswego)

This award is in recognition of the tremendous contributions Dr. Seago has made in encouraging and supporting students to pursue careers in botany. Despite heavy teaching responsibilities, he has maintained an active research program involving undergraduate students and has mentored many of them to continue to graduate school in botany.

Dr. Seago was department chair for six years and has served on numerous committees at SUNY Oswego. He has served the Botanical Society of America as Program Director of the Developmental and Structural Section (1994-1997) and has been a diligent and hard-working reviewer for the American Journal of Botany.

Dr. Seago’s research deals with root developmental anatomy as well as the structure, development, and function of aquatic and wetlands plants.”

Jeannette Siron Pelton Award -
William E. Friedman, University of Colorado

The Jeannette Siron Pelton Award is given for sustained and imaginative contributions in the field of plant morphogenesis. This year's awardee is William E. Friedman of the University of Colorado for his research contributions on double fertilization in Gnetophytes, the origin of angiosperm endosperm and concepts on the early evolution of gametophytic structure. This award includes a check and a plaque from the Conservation and Research Foundation. This award also includes a Pelton Award address which will be given at the Botany 2005 conference in Austin, Texas.

Given By the Sections

George R. Cooley Award (Systematics Section and the American Society of Plant Taxonomists) -
Mac Alford, Cornell University

George R. Cooley award for best contributed paper in plant systematics. The ASPT's Cooley Award is given for the best paper in systematics given at the annual meeting by a botanist in the early stages of his/her career. Awards are made to members of ASPT who are graduate students or within 5 years of their post-doctoral careers. The Cooley Award is given for work judged to be substantially complete, synthetic and original. First authorship required; graduate students or those within 5 years of finishing their Ph.D. are eligible; must be a member of ASPT at time of abstract submission; only one paper judged per candidate. This year's award was given to Mac Alford of Cornell University for his talk entitled “phylogeny and classification of the Flacourtiaceae – Salicaceae complex.".

Margaret Menzel Award (Genetics Section) -
Carrie Wu, University of California, Urvine

The Margaret Menzel Award is presented by the Genetics Section for the outstanding paper presented in the contributed papers sessions of the annual meetings. This year’s award goes to Carrie Wu, University of California, Urvine for her paper “Spatial genetic structure of cytoplasmic and nuclear markers in natural Ipomopsis (Polemoniaceae) hybrid zone. Her co-author was Diane Campbell.

A.J. Sharp Award (Bryological and Lichenological Section) -
Erin Martin, Oregon State University

The A.J. Sharp Award is presented each year by the American Bryological and Lichenological Society and the Bryological and Lichenological Section for the best student presentation. The award, named in honor of the late Jack Sharp, encourages student research on bryophytes and lichens. This year’s A.J. Sharp Award goes to Erin Martin, Oregon State University, for her paper “Variation in the occurrence of rare epiphytic lichens of the western Oregon Cascades.” Her co-authors were Bruce McCune and Linda Geiser.

Edgar T. Wherry Award (Pteridological Section and the American Fern Society) -
Harald Schneider, University of Goettingen

The Edgar T. Wherry Award is given for the best paper presented during the contributed papers session of the Pteridological Section. This award is in honor of Dr. Wherry’s many contributions to the floristics and patterns of evolution in ferns. This year’s award goes to Harald Schneider from the University of Goettingen, for his paper “Radiations in Drynarioid ferns: evolution of humus collectors as a putative morphological key innovation.” The paper was co-authored with Thomas Janssen.

Awards for EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS:

Lawrence Memorial Award -
Ms. Danica T. Harbaugh, University of California, Berkeley

The Lawrence Memorial Fund was established at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, to commemorate the life and achievements of its founding director, Dr. George H. M. Lawrence. Proceeds from the Fund are used to make an annual Award in the amount of $2000 to a doctoral candidate to support travel for dissertation research in systematic botany or horticulture, or the history of the plant sciences. The Lawrence Memorial Award for 2004 goes to Ms. Danica T. Harbaugh, a student of Prof. Bruce G. Baldwin at the University of California, Berkeley. For her dissertation research, Ms. Harbaugh has undertaken a study of Santalum (Saltalaceae), whick includes the saldalwoods, and is constructing a phylogeny of the entire genus. The proceeds of the Award will help support her travel to islands in the South Pacific and to India for her research.

Awards for STUDENTS:

The BSA Graduate Student Research Award including the J. S. Karling Award

The BSA Graduate Student Research Awards support graduate student research and are made on the basis of research proposals and letters of recommendations. Withing the award group is the Karling Graduate Student Research Award. This award was instituted by the Society in 1997 with funds derived through a generous gift from the estate of the eminent mycologist, John Sidney Karling (1897-1994), and supports and promotes graduate student research in the botanical sciences.Award recipients are:

J. S. Karling Graduate Student Research Award

Krissa A. Skogen

BSA Graduate Student Research Awards

Orlando Alvarez-Fuentes
Monica Arakaki
Heather Driscoll
Cecile Gueidan
Christopher T. Martine
Abraham J. Miller-Rushing
Darin S. Penneys
Joey Shaw
Juan Carlos Villarreal

Isabel Cookson Award (Paleobotanical Section) -
Caroline Strömberg, Swedish Museum of Natural History

The 2004 Isabel Cookson Award, recognizing the best student paper presented in the Paleobotanical Section, is awarded to Caroline Strömberg of the Swedish Museum of Natural History, for her paper entitled “From subtropical forests to savanna: phytolith evidence concerning Tertiary vegetation change and grass evolution in the North American interior.”

Katherine Esau Award (Developmental and Structural Section) -
Athena McKown, University of Toronto

This award was established in 1985 with a gift from Dr. Esau and is augmented by ongoing contributions from Section members. It is given to the graduate student who presents the outstanding paper in developmental and structural botany at the annual meeting. This year’s award goes to Athena McKown, from the University of Toronto, for her paper “Evolution of kranz anamomy in the genus Flaveria (Asteraceae).” Her co-authors were Jean-Marc Moncalvo and Nancy Dengler.

Maynard Moseley Award (Paleobotanical and Developmental and Structural Sections) -
Athena McKown, University of Toronto

The Maynard F. Moseley Award was established in 1995 to honor a career of dedicated teaching, scholarship, and service to the furtherance of the botanical sciences. Dr. Moseley, known to his students as “Dr. Mo”, died Jan. 16, 2003 in Santa Barbara, CA, where he had been a professor since 1949. He was widely recognized for his enthusiasm for and dedication to teaching and his students, as well as for his research using floral and wood anatomy to understand the systematics and evolution of angiosperm taxa, especially waterlilies. (PSB, Spring, 2003). The award is given to the best student paper, presented in either the Paleobotanical or Developmental and Structural sessions, that advances our understanding of plant structure in an evolutionary context. This year’s award goes to Athena McKown, from the University of Toronto, for her paper “Evolution of kranz anamomy in the genus Flaveria (Asteraceae).” Her co-authors were Jean-Marc Moncalvo and Nancy Dengler.

Ecology Section Award -
Sally Chess, San Francisco State University, for her paper “Evidence for pollinator-mediated selection in Linanthus dichotomous”. Her co-authors were Robert A. Rugoso and Gretchen LeBuhn.

Hester Bell, Rancho Ana Botanical Garden

The Ecological Section Award for the best student poster goes to Hester Bell of Rancho Ana Botanical Garden for her poster “Population genetics of Swallenia alexandrae (Poaceae), the Eureka Valley Dunes Grass.” Her co-authors were E. Friar and J. T. Columbus.

Genetics Section Poster Award -
Deborah Johnson, Idaho State University

The Genetics Section Poster Award is given for the best student poster at the annual meetings.
This year’s award is given to Deborah Johnson, Idaho State University, for the poster “Sugar transporter genefamily discovery in the fern Ceratopteris richardii .” Co-authors were Michael A. Thomas and Jeffrey P. Hill.

Physiological Section Awards -
Daniel Johnson, Wake Forest

For his talk “Chlorophyll florescence in cotyledons and primary needles of a high-altitude confier. His co-authors were Thomas Vogelman and William Smith.

Katherine McCullough, University of Utah

For her talk “Do plants comply with Murray’s Law?”. Her co-author was John S. Sperry.

SPECIAL AWARDS:

Dr. Scott Russell
BSA Past President

The Botanical Society of America presented a special award to Dr. Scott Russell expressing gratitude and appreciation for outstanding contributions and support for the Society. Scott has provided exemplary contributions to the Society in terms of leadership, time and effort. He has played a significant role in the development of the BSA website and continues to serve as the Electronic Editor for the American Journal of Botany. This award was presented at the annual banquet on August 4, 2004, at the Snowbird Resort; Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dr. Joseph Armstrong
BSA Immediate Past Treasurer, Illinois State University

The Botanical Society of America presented a special award to Dr. Joseph Armstrong expressing gratitude and appreciation for outstanding contributions and support for the Society. This award was presented at the annual banquet on August 4, 2004, at the Snowbird Resort; Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dr. Christiane Anderson
Editor-in-Chief of Systematic Botany Monographs

The Systematics Section of the Botanical Society of America presented a special achievement award to Dr. Christiane Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Systematic Botany Monographs. This award was presented to her at the annual banquet on August 4, 2004, at the Snowbird Resort; Salt Lake City, Utah. Christiane’s contributions to Systematic Botany Monographs are remarkable. She became Editor-in-Chief in 1981, editing all volumes since volume 2, continuing to volume 68. She currently is editing four more volumes. In total, she has edited about 10,000 pages of printed text. Christiane shows incredible attention to detail, and generously provides her time to make the most of every author's submissions. Her remarkable achievements have helped propel three of the monographs to a Jesse M. Greenman Award, and another three to a Henry Allan Gleason Award. Many of her authors honored her at the BSA banquet personally, provided letters to her that were bound into a book to be presented to her, and contributed $3,500 to be used for the continued health of Systematic Botany Monographs.