William C. Andersen Memorial Award

ABOUT William C Andersen
The William C. Andersen Award was established in 1982 in memory of Bill Andersen, who drowned in 1980 while canoeing the Churchill River in Manitoba during a Peregrine Falcon survey. Dr. Andersen was a chemistry professor, but his first love was raptors. He established the Ornithology Research Center at Otero Jr. College in La Junta Colorado, as a medium for raising funds for the field research he conducted with his students. His interest in raptors of southeastern Colorado grasslands naturally evolved into developing a solution to the universal problem of raptor persecution. He established a rehabilitation facility and tirelessly lectured to service clubs and school groups about the benefits of raptors. He was a strong supporter of the RRF and a number of students accompanied him to each of the annual meetings. His enthusiasm, sincerity, and humor sparked an interest in raptors among many of his students and associates. While participating in the 1980 North American Peregrine Falcon Survey, Bill and a partner were canoeing on the Churchill River in northern Manitoba. They unexpectedly encountered extremely turbulent water and capsized. Bill disappeared and presumably drowned. In that instant, raptors and raptorphiles lost one of their strongest allies.

THE AWARD
The William C. Andersen Memorial Award is given to both the best student oral and poster presentation at the annual RRF meeting. This award can only be given to a student once per degree (bachelor, master, or doctorate). To be eligible, a student must be senior author and presenter of the paper or poster. If less than 5 posters are in contention, no separate poster award will be given. Information on how to prepare and give a scientific presentation and criteria used to judge the presentations are available from the committee chair. Award recipients will be announced at the banquet.  Students wishing to apply for this award should indicate their interest by checking the box on the abstract submission form.

In addition, students planning to present a paper should submit a second extended abstract to the Andersen Award Committee.  The extended abstract should be a maximum of 3 pages double spaced, in JRR format. The purpose is to provide a clear background/context for the study, methods used, results, and relevancy of findings. The Andersen Committee will judge the extended abstracts for quality and select the 8 best papers to be presented as 15 min presentations during a single Andersen Award paper session on Thursday. The paper cannot be part of an organized symposium to be considered.

Amount:
Poster award receives $100, a banquet ticket, and 1 year free membership to RRF
Paper award receives $300, a banquet ticket, and 1 year free membership to RRF
Number of Awards Issued per Year: 1 paper and 1 poster awardee

Deadline: Due date for meeting abstract form

Contact: Clint Boal, USGS Texas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Natural Resources Management, 218 Agriculture Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-2120, Phone: (806) 742-2851 clint.boal@ttu.edu

RRF 2010 Student Award Winners, L - R: Elizabeth Wommack (Winner, Andersen award for best student poster); Chris Briggs (Honorable mention, Andersen award for best student poster); Joe Barnes (Winner, Andersen Award for best student paper); Jessi Brown (Honorable mention, Andersen award for best student paper). Dan Varland photo.

Award Recipients: