The following remarks were read by Dean and Director Dr. John Wells during VIMS' annual Awards Ceremony on May 7, 2010 to honor recipients of the 2009 Student Awards. Citations for the 2009 Service Awards are also available.
The John E. Olney Sr. Ichthyology Award honors the distinguished career of the late Professor John Olney, and his unwavering dedication to fostering young marine scientists and ichthyologists. The recipient of this year's inaugural award is Jennifer Martin.
The Zeigler Award honors the past contributions to student needs of Dr. John Zeigler, the first SMS Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, and the continuing contributions of Mrs. Marilyn Zeigler. This year's recipient is Da Chen.
Former Dean and Director Bill Hargis established this award to recognize superior academic performance and exceptional promise in marine research. This year's recipient is Jaime Blackburn
This award was endowed by the late U.S. Navy Captain J. Maury Werth to honor his great-grandfather Matthew Fontaine Maury, a son of Virginia often referred to as the “Father of Oceanography” and the “Pathfinder of the Seas.” This year's recipient is Sarah Schillawski.
Each year a committee of faculty and students chooses the best journal articles by VIMS graduate students. Papers are judged for scope of problem, degree of challenge, magnitude of effort, hypothesis formulation and testing, and style. This year's winners are Patrick Lynch and Jianmin Ye.