The AOS Ned K. Johnson Early Investigator Award recognizes outstanding and promising work by a researcher early in their career in any field of ornithology. It consists of a certificate, $1,500 honorarium, and gratis registration to attend the annual meeting. Awardees are also invited to give a plenary at the annual meeting.
The Ned K. Johnson Early Investigator Award is funded through a gift to the AOS endowment honoring Ned K. Johnson, a lifelong supporter and former AOU President (1996-1998).
Candidates may apply for the award themselves, be nominated by another member(s) of AOS, or be added to the slate of candidates by the Early Professional Awards Committee, which selects the annual awardees. The successful nominee will excel in research and show distinct promise for leadership in ornithology within and beyond North America.
In addition, they must:
- Be a current member of AOS.
- The nominee’s doctorate degree must have been received (or be anticipated) anytime between 2017–2020. Individuals who received their terminal degree in 2016 are also eligible in cases of parental leave.
- Have not received the award previously.
Submit a Nomination for the Johnson Award
Nominations for the AOS Early Professional Awards are open. Nominations are due by 15 December 2023.
Nominations must be submitted through our online Member Portal.*
- The page linked above will direct you to a login screen. If you have previously created an account in our Member Portal, enter your user name and password. After logging in, you will be redirected to the Ned K. Johnson Award nomination page.
- If you have not previously created an account, click Register Now on the lower right to set up your profile.
*Full nominations for Early Professional Awards are due by 15 December. However, 2nd-party nominations (nominations of someone other than yourself) that are submitted through the Early Professional Awards nomination “Quick Form,” available through the AOS Member Portal, are due by November 15 to allow the Nomination Committee enough time to reach out to the nominee and for that person to submit their completed information ahead of the 15 December deadline for all full nominations.
To nominate yourself for the Ned K. Johnson Award, you will need to upload 1) a 1,000-word summary of why you should be considered for the award (plain-text format), and 2) a current CV (no length limit; acceptable file types include pdf, doc, and docx).
Previous Winners
2023 Carrie Branch & Sara Lipshutz
2022 Benjamin Freeman & Allison Shultz
2021 Luis Sandoval & Sahas Barve
2020 Sara Kaiser & Jennifer Walsh
2019 David Toews
2018 Scott Taylor
2017 Michael Butler
2016 Mary Caswell Stoddard
2015 Kyle Elliott
2014 Alex Jahn
2013 Corey E. Tarwater
2012 James Rivers
2011 Alice Boyle
2010 Dustin R. Rubenstein
2009 Renée A. Duckworth
2008 A. Marm Kilpatrick
2007 Lynn Bloxom Martin II
2006 D. Ryan Norris
2005 Kevin J. McGraw