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Awards

Neher Head Shot

Dr. Deb Neher, honoree of the section’s Career Award, and first recipient of the award in 2015.

The Deborah A. Neher Career Award honors someone who has made significant contributions to the field of soil ecology. It is named in honor of Deb Neher, the first Chair of the section and the first recipient of the award. Dr. Neher helped establish the Soil Ecology section in 1993. At that time, ESA was mostly known for theoretical and basic work, and seemed to have little representation or appreciation for applied ecology. Plant ecologists viewed soil as a ‘black box’ and soil ecology papers were not widely published in the ESA journals. The section was established to provide a place at ESA for soil ecologists, but also to educate other ecologists about soil. Throughout her career, Dr. Neher has worked to foster education about soil ecology, forging linkages with ESA and other professional societies, hosting symposia and business meetings, and representing soil ecologists on various governing and advisory boards. For her decades of service, the Soil Ecology section enthusiastically established this award in her honor, and named her the first recipient of the award in 2015. Dr. Peter Groffman was the distinguished scientist awarded in 2016, Dr. Jayne Belnap in 2017,  Dr. Nancy Collins Johnson in 2018, Dr. Joshua Schimel in 2019, Dr. Gail Wilson in 2020, Dr. Serita Frey in 2021, Dr. Jen Schweitzer in 2022, and Dr. Jennifer Pett-Ridge in 2023. This award is given to someone who has made significant contributions to the field of Soil Ecology over the course of their career.

*Please note, the requirement of service in the Soil Ecology Section has been eliminated, to increase the pool of nominees.

Award nominations should include one letter of support, that may include multiple signatories, and may be sent to André Franco (franco@nulliu.edu) by May 31, 2024.

 

Student Travel Awards are offered to help cover the costs of registration and travel for the annual ESA meeting. We anticipate making 4 awards of $400 each. Applications are due on May 31, 2024.

To apply for 2024 Student Travel Awards, use THIS LINK: https://forms.gle/YVxAGperQKXsqKQf6

Criteria:

  • Active student membership in the section at the time of application (required)
  • Abstract accepted to present a talk or poster in-person at the 2024 ESA Annual Meeting (required)
  • Priority will be given to students with greater financial need, who have not received ESA section support in the past year
  • Application Materials include: All required fields, abstract, statement of financial need and student benefit, statement of research relevance to Soil Ecology