Home Awards & Grants Early Professional Awards Ned K. Johnson Early Investigator Award

Ned K. Johnson Early Investigator Award

The Ned K. Johnson Early Investigator Award recognizes outstanding and promising work by a researcher early in his or her career in any field of ornithology. It consists of a certificate, $1000 honorarium, and a travel stipend of up to $1000 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.
  • Have received their doctorate degree within for to seven years of their nomination. (An extra year of eligibility may be granted for parental leave.)
  • Have not received the award previously.

Previous Winners

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

    From the field

    Hummingbird hybrids? Yes! This photos is of an Allen's Hummingbird x Rufous Hummingbird hybrid, captured near Happy Camp, California. Researchers recently identified a previously unknown hybrid zone where the two species overlap in northern California and southern Oregon, and their findings were published this week in The Auk: Ornithological Advances. Scientists hope that studying hybridization between the two species could yield new insights about how biodiversity is created and maintained. Read the press release at the link in our profile! Photo by Brian Myers. #ornithology #wildlife #science #birds #conservation #hummingbirds #nature #animalsWhy are mallards sometimes called the Research recently published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances shows that these two spectacular, closely related hummingbird species occupying the same habitat in the Andes — the Blue-throated Starfrontlet (Coeligena helianthea) and the Golden-bellied Starfrontlet (C. bonapartei) — may be an example of speciation with gene flow, where one species splits into two despite ongoing interbreeding between the two diverging groups. #ornithology #science #wildlife #birds #hummingbirds #nature #animalsI also use small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS, aka drones) in my work in conservation as well as in work for the electric industry unrelated to conservation. Drones can cause much less disturbance than traditional methods when checking the nests of raptors. Drones can also be used to install line markers to reduce avian collisions, to inspect nests for entanglement hazards, or to quantify wildlife. I even get to fly drones in high voltage environments where a person would be killed if they entered! It's been fun taking over the AOS Instagram account this week — if you have questions about my work, you can reach me at jdwyer@edmlink.com! #birds #ornithology #science #conservation #wildlife #drones #powerlines . A big thank you to #AOSMember James Dwyer for his posts this week! If you're an AOS member and would like to be featured here, please send us a message.The Avian Collision Avoidance System (ACAS), which I posted about earlier this week, is just one way of addressing avian collisions with power lines. Other methods involve “line marking,” which uses attachments on wires to increase line visibility. Unfortunately, these methods are not as reliable as we would like. In the attached photos, a Green-winged Teal in Colorado, a sparrow in Colorado, a sparrow in Wyoming, a warbler in California, and a Ring-billed Gull in California illustrate the range of species and habitats where collisions occur. #ornithology #birds #science #wildlife #conservation #powerlines . [Thank you to #AOSMember James Dwyer, who's taking over our account this week — keep following along!]Avian electrocutions can be prevented. Electrocutions can cause power outages, damage expensive equipment, start wildfires, and violate state and federal conservation laws. I tend to emphasize the first three concerns when working with utilities because unplanned outages, equipment replacement, and wildfire controls or restitution can be used in sound business cases for investing in avian electrocution mitigation regardless of the political climate. In the attached photos, an electrocuted Black-billed Magpie in Idaho (burned feet), Common Raven in California (burned beak), Bald Eagle in Colorado (burned neck and back), and Great Horned Owl in Arizona (burned wing) illustrate the range of species and habitats where electrocutions occur. All photos by me. #ornithology #birds #conservation #science #wildlife . [Thank you to #AOSMember James Dwyer, who's taking over our account this week — keep following along!]I’ve had great opportunities to work in avian conservation internationally in Africa, Canada, the Dominican Republic, the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Hungary, and Spain. In these photos, a Griffon Vulture in South Africa feeds in front of a power line (out of image frame) where numerous vultures have been electrocuted, a Ridgeway’s Hawk in the Dominican Republic jumps through the air gap around a power line to land on a conductor cover installed to prevent avian electrocutions, and an electrocuted Common Buzzard and Griffon Vulture can be seen on pylons. All photos by me. #ornithology #birds #science #conservation #wildlife #raptors #birdsofprey #powerlines . [Thank you to #AOSMember James Dwyer, who's taking over our account this week — keep following along!]
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