Professional Awards
Student Awards
Honorary Members
Katma Award
The newest award offered by the Cooper Ornithological Society is the Katma Award, proposed and sponsored by Dr. Robert W. Storer. This award is intended to encourage the formulation of new ideas that could change the course of thinking about the biology of birds. It will be given to the author(s) of an outstanding paper published in The Condor or Studies in Avian Biology that offers unconventional ideas or innovative approaches, backed by a well-reasoned argument. The Katma Award will be given only when it is merited, no more than once a year. A 3-person Selection Committee will annually review all papers published by the COS in the previous year, but may decide that none deserve the award that year. The award will be approximately $2500 plus a suitable certificate and will be given at the COS annual meeting. In addition, Katma funds may be used for activities that are consistent with the award, such as plenary lectures, symposia, and support of publication. A full explanation of the Katma Award was published in 2003, Volume 105(4):843 of The Condor.
Loye and Alden Miller Research Award
At its 1993 Annual Meeting, the Cooper Ornithological Society initiated the Loye and Alden Miller Research Award, which is given for lifetime achievement in ornithological research. Loye Holment Miller (1874-1970) began his teaching career in 1904 at the Los Angeles State Normal School which later became UCLA, and he retired in 1943. It was only in the last nine years of his active service that the Ph.D. degree was awarded and, in that time, he had two M.A. and two Ph.D. students. Alden Holmer Miller (1906-1965), Loye's son, began his teaching career in 1931 in the Department of Zoology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley. He remained on the faculty until his death 34 years later. Miller sponsored 28 Ph.D. students, 26 of them in avian biology. Among their students, those with a Ph.D. in avian biology total 166. Additionally, there are at least 40 whose Ph.D. topics were non-avian. To view their biographies, go here.
1993. George A. BartholomewPainton Award
1994. Storrs Olson
1995. Barbara B. DeWolfe
1996. William R. Dawson
1997. Robert W. Storer
1998. Russell Balda
1999. Gordon H. Orians
2000. Ernst W. Mayr
2001. Frank A. Pitelka
2002. Richard T. Holmes
2003. B. Rosemary and Peter Grant
2004. Alexander Skutch
2005. John A. Wiens
2006. Robert E. Ricklefs
This award is a cash prize of at least $1,000 and is given only in odd-numbered years to the author of an outstanding paper published in the four preceding years in The Condor. At the discretion of the committee, but with the approval of the board, no award need be given. Funds for the award come from a bequest from Mr. Painton. By vote of the board, society funds may be used to increase the amount of this award.
View previous Harry R. Painton award recipients and download their winning articles here.
Student Awards
Brazier Howell Award
The A. Brazier Howell Award is given for the best paper presented at the annual meeting. The candidate must be an amateur, a student, or must have received his/her degree since the last annual meeting, and must be the sole author (or senior author, if the paper is co-authored). The recipient must be a member of the society. This award comes with a cash award, membership in the COS, and a book on some ornithological topic.
Frances F. Roberts Award
The Frances F. Roberts Award is given for an outstanding paper presented at the annual meeting. The candidate must be an amateur, a student, or must have received his/her degree since the last annual meeting, and must be the sole author (or senior author, if the paper is co-authored). This award comes with a cash award, membership in COS, and a book on some ornithological topic. Mrs. Roberts was a well known bird photographer and prominent member of the COS during the 1940s to1960s.
Board of Directors Awards
Two awards are given annually by the board to those students who present worthy papers or posters at the annual meeting and who do not win either the A. Brazier Howell Award or the Francis F. Roberts Award. The candidate must be an amateur, a student, or must have received his/her degree since the last annual meeting, and must be the sole author (or senior author, if the paper is co-authored). These awards come with a cash award, membership in COS, and a book on some ornithological topic.
Application Requirements
TTo compete for student presentation awards, applicants must submit an expanded abstract of their paper or poster (written in English, 1000 words maximum). The expanded abstract should include title, author(s), objective(s), relevant methods, major results and conclusions, and a statement regarding how the research contributes to advancing scientific knowledge. (Note: participants must also submit standard abstracts to the program committee chair to receive a place on the program; see conference website for details). Presentations will be judged on content and delivery, with preference given to applicants in the final phases of completing their research as opposed to those presenting preliminary results. Send expanded abstracts as attached files via email to the chair of the student presentation award committee (below), including “student presentation competition” in the subject line. 2007 deadline: submit abstract by 15 April to:
Dr. Barbara Kus
USGS Western Ecological Research Center
4165 Spruance Road, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92101
Email: barbara_kus@usgs.gov
619-225-6421 telephone
Mewaldt-King Student Research Award
The sixteenth annual Mewaldt-King Student Research Awards will be presented by the Cooper Ornithological Society at the 2007 annual meeting. These $1,000 awards are designated in the memory of L. Richard Mewaldt and James R. King to support research that relates to the conservation of birds. Research may be in any area of ornithology, but studies that involve demographics, breeding biology, or disease ecology may be particularly relevant, especially if the species is endangered, threatened, or otherwise of management concern. Studies of species from threatened ecosystems (e.g., old-growth forest, wetlands) or with reference to large-scale conservation issues such as climate or landscape change are also of particular interest. View the previous years' Mewaldt-King recipients and titles here.
Eligibility.
Any graduate student (of any nationality) accepted to or enrolled in a master's or doctoral program at a university in the U.S. or elsewhere is eligible to apply.
2008 Application Deadline.
Applications must be received by the Mewaldt-King Award Committee on or before 15 January 2008.
Research Proposal Format
1. Cover page bearing the student’s name, academic affiliation, mailing and email
addresses, the title of the proposal, and the name and email address of the
student’s major faculty advisor.
2. Abstract (≤ 250 words).
3. Introduction, including: (a) relevant background, (b) specific hypotheses to be
tested, or questions asked, (c) relevance of proposed research to conservation
biology.
4. Proposed methods, analyses, and timetable.
5. General categories of expenditures and total project budget including current
and pending sources of support.
6. Literature cited (follow format used by Condor; see Condor author
instructions).
7. Curriculum vitae (CV).
The proposal abstract and text, excluding literature cited, should not be longer than 6 double-spaced pages with a 12-point font and 1 inch (25 mm) margins. CV should be no more than three pages. The entire proposal: cover page, proposal, budget, lit cited, and CV should be submitted as a single document.
Multiple documents will not be accepted. Proposals that are improperly formatted or exceed page limits will not be reviewed. Applicants will not receive comments from reviewers.
Application Requirements
Materials should be submitted as attachments via email directly to the chair of the committee at the address below. Acceptable electronic file formats are Word, tich text format, and pdf files. Files in other formats will not be accepted. Files should be named using the student’s last name and first initial (e.g., SmithC.doc). Please include “Mewaldt-King” in the subject heading of your email. All applications must be accompanied by a letter of support (submitted separately, email encouraged) from the applicant's major faculty advisor.
International students lacking internet access may submit printed copies of their materials by the published deadline and should include a self-addressed envelope to facilitate notification of the committee’s decision. Electronic copies submitted on floppy disks via postal service will not be accepted.
Dr. Paul Nolan, Chair
Mewaldt-King Award Committee
Dept. of Biology
The Citadel
171 Moultrie St.
Charleston, SC 29409 USA
E-mail: mewaldtking@gmail.com
Joseph Grinnell Student Research Award
The eighth annual Joseph Grinnell Student Research Awards will be presented by the Cooper Ornithological Society at their 2007 meeting in Moscow, Idaho. This award supports beginning research efforts of Ph.D. graduate students in their first or second year of enrollment. Up to two $1000 awards are designated, in the memory of Joseph Grinnell, to support basic research in any aspect of avian biology. Projects that deal with conservation issues in avian biology should be directed to the Mewaldt-King Research Awards Committee of the Cooper Ornithological Society. Students may not submit a proposal to both award committees in the same year. View previous years' Joseph Grinnell Award recipients and titles here.
2007 Proposal Deadline
Proposals must be submitted electronically on or before 23 MARCH 2007. Only graduate students originally enrolled in a Doctoral program AFTER August 2005 are eligible for the award. Students lacking internet access may submit printed copies of their materials via mail (see mailing address below) and should include a self-addressed envelope to facilitate notification of the committee's decision. Electronic copies submitted on floppy disks via postal service will NOT be accepted.
Proposal submission
To apply for the award, the student should submit one copy of:
1 A short research proposal (no longer than 1800 words; see format below),
2. His/her most current curriculum vitae, and
3. A letter of support from his/her major faculty advisor. It is encouraged that materials be submitted as attachments via email directly to the chair of the committee
Walter Wehtje
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.
Email: wehtjew@missouri.edu
Acceptable electronic file formats are Word, rich text format, and pdf files. Files in other formats will not be accepted. Files should be named using the student's last name and first initial (e.g., SmithC_proposal.pdf; SmithC_cv.pdf). Please include "Grinnell Award" in the subject heading of the email. The letter of support should be submitted separately by the applicant's major faculty advisor. The letter should address the qualifications of the applicant and the importance of the research project. This letter must also state the academic semester or quarter in which the applicant first entered the Ph.D. program. Otherwise the application will not be considered.
Format
1. Abstract
2. Introduction, including: (a) objectives with specific hypotheses to be tested
(b) summary of any work completed to date (c) relation to present knowledge
(d) significance
3. Proposed methods, analyses, and timetable
4. Literature cited The complete proposal abstract and text, including literature
cited, may not be longer than 1800 words (approximately 5 pages,
double-spaced).
Mailing Address
Walter Wehtje
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences
302 ABNR
Columbia, MO 65211-7240
E-mail: wehtjew@missouri.edu
Student Travel Award
Undergraduate and graduate students may compete for a travel award to help defray the cost of attending the COS annual meeting. To be eligible, a student must be a member of COS and present an oral or poster paper at the meeting. Additionally, each eligible student must be the primary author of the respective paper, but papers may be co-authored with other students or non-students. The amount of each award varies depending on transportation costs and the number of students applying. In order to compete for a travel award, a student must submit each of the following: 1. An expanded abstract of your paper or poster (written in English,
double-spaced, 12-point font, 3-page maximum including figures, tables, and
references);
2. A two-page curriculum vitae, including name, postal and email addresses, and
telephone number so that you can be contacted;
3. A detailed list, in U.S. dollars, of anticipated expenses for travel costs.
Applicants will be judged based on the scientific merit of their submitted papers. The expanded abstract should include: title, authors, rationale for the study, objective(s) (or question), relevant methods and the most important results (i.e., data and statistics), major conclusions, and a statement regarding the contribution of the research to the advancement of knowledge. Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications as an attached file via e-mail (please ask your advisor to e-mail the recommendation separately, as described below) but a mailed, paper copy will also be accepted. Facsimiles will not be accepted. Send materials by 31 March 2007. Applicants not able to email the information may send 5 copies (no facsimiles) of each of the above, postmarked by 31 March 2007, to:
Matthias Leu
USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
970 Lusk Street
Boise ID 83706
208-426-2598 telephone
E-mail: mleu@usgs.gov
Additionally, a letter of recommendation from your advisor should be e-mailed separately. Questions may be directed to Matthias Leu at the email address above. Deadline for receipt of applications is 31 March 2007, whether submitted by mail or electronically. Indicate on your abstract and registration materials that you are a student.
Student Membership Program
See details on the membership page.