Loye and Alden Miller Research Award

The AOS Miller Award recognizes lifetime achievement in ornithological research. Loye Holmes Miller (1874–1970) began his teaching career in 1904 at the Los Angeles State Normal School (which later became UCLA) and 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 Holmes 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 and 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, and there are at least an additional 40 whose Ph.D. topics were non-avian. All award nominees are expected to have a high standard of ethical and social behavior that is strongly aligned with the AOS Code of Conduct & Ethics.

Miller Award Nomination Guidelines

Before submitting a nomination, please review the lists of previous recipients below. In recognition of the large number of ornithologists making outstanding contributions to our science, the AOS Council recommends that the Miller Award not be conferred upon the same individual more than once in their lifetime.

Generally an individual is expected to receive only one senior Award. However, since the Miller Award recognizes lifetime achievement in ornithological research, it is possible for an individual to receive a Miller Award after receiving one of the other AOS senior awards, ideally only after an extended period of time since receiving one of the other Senior Awards, and in the absence of equally good other alternate individuals for the Miller Award in that year. Note that nominees for the Miller Award need not be members of AOS at the time of their nomination.

Submit a Nomination

Nominations for AOS Senior Professional Awards are open.

Nominations must be submitted through our online Member Portal. Nomination Deadline: 15 December 2024

• Clicking “Apply Now” on the page linked above will direct you to a login screen. If you have previously created an account, your Login ID is your email address. After logging in, you will be redirected to the Senior Professional Award nomination page.
• If you have not previously created an account, click Create Account at the lower left to set up your profile.
• You can also navigate to the submission page from the Member Portal homepage under “Open Competitions” in the lower right.

To submit a nomination for the Miller Award, you will need to upload 1) a written summary (no more than 2 pages) describing the nominee’s contributions to ornithology and why they should be recognized with the award, and 2) a current CV of the nominee.

Previous Miller Award Winners