The American Ornithological Society (AOS) invites abstract submissions for the 2025 Wesley Lanyon Award, which recognizes an early-career ornithologist who authors the best integrative review paper on avian science to be published in either AOS journal, Ornithology or Ornithological Applications. Each award cycle is two years to allow sufficient time for manuscript preparation, peer review, revisions, and symposium planning. Members of the AOS who are doctoral students or no further than three years beyond their Ph.D. are invited to submit abstracts of their proposed papers to compete for this award. The journals’ senior editors will review all submissions and invite up to six entrants to submit full manuscripts for peer review. The prize will be awarded to the individual who proposed the winning paper and led the writing.
Proposed papers should fit the target journals’ mission and scope and be novel, integrative reviews that advance ornithology, not simply a review of a body of literature. See Sayer (2018) for excellent advice about writing a review article.
The prize will be awarded to the individual who proposed the winning paper and led the writing. Proposals with multiple authors must include a statement that the first author conceived of the study and did the majority of research and writing. An applicant may only submit one first-authored proposal per award cycle.
The 2025 Wesley Lanyon Award provides a $1,500 honorarium to the winner, as well as a $1,000 travel stipend and gratis registration to attend the 2025 AOS annual meeting, for which the winner will organize a symposium on their winning review topic. The winner will be announced to the public as soon as the winning paper is selected; the award will be conferred at the 2025 AOS annual meeting.
Wesley “Bud” Lanyon served as the 37th President of the Society. Throughout his career, Bud served as a steadfast and committed leader in ornithology and of the Society, and was recognized as a generous and respected mentor of many generations of scientists. He was particularly keen to support investigators in the midst of writing their dissertations or who had recently completed their doctoral degrees, recognizing that they possess a thorough understanding of the current literature and are poised to provide novel insights into classic areas of ornithology or to elucidate emerging fields of study.
DEADLINE: Applicants should submit abstracts of their proposed papers by 30 October 2023 in the AOS Member Portal.
Wesley Lanyon Award Application Process & Eligibility Details
Eligible applicants include AOS members who are doctoral students or early professionals within three years of earning their Ph.D. (An extra year of eligibility may be granted for parental leave.)
DEADLINE: Applicants should submit abstracts of their proposed papers by 30 October 2023 in the AOS Member Portal. Authors invited to submit full submissions will receive the invitation by early December with expected submission of the full manuscript by July 2024.
The Editors-in Chief and Senior Editors will select a winner from the final set of accepted papers. The winner will be notified in advance of the next AOS meeting so that the symposium can be planned. The winner will be announced to the public as soon as the winning paper is selected, and the award conferred at the AOS annual meeting in which the symposium occurs.
The winning paper will be published as an Editor’s Choice* article in the appropriate AOS journal. Note that the prize will not be awarded in a given year if no submitted papers are deemed suitable for publication.