The Billings and New Phytologist Poster Awards

Two separate awards recognize significant advancements in physiological ecology; entrants are judged on the rigor, creativity, importance, and presentation of the research. See below for eligibility requirements and some tips on effective paper and poster presentation.

2009 Winners

We hope you were able to attend some of the talks or posters of students who entered the Billings and New Phytologist (NP) Poster award at this year’s ESA meeting. We had a great (and relatively large) bunch of students competing this year, although we had almost five times more students giving talks compared to posters. Because of this imbalance, we awarded two honorable mentions for the Billings award, which is in addition to the overall winners of the Billings and New Phytologist Poster awards. The awardees are (drum roll...):

Billings award:

Winner: Doug Aubrey, University of Georgia, gave an oral presentation on “Root-derived CO2 efflux via xylem stream rivals soil CO2 efflux” with co-author R.O. Teskey.

Honorable mention: Greg Barron-Gafford, University of Arizona, gave a presentation on “ntegrating estimates of ecosystem respiration from eddy covariance towers with automated measures of soil respiration: Examining the development and influence of hysteresis in soil respiratory fluxes along a woody plant encroachment gradient” with co-authors R. Scott, G.D. Jennerette, and T.E. Huxman.

Honorable mention: Dena Vallano, Cornell University, gave a presentation on “Effects of direct foliar uptake of gaseous nitrogen dioxide on plant-herbivore interactions” with co-author S. Campbell.

New Phytologist Poster award:

Winner: Allyson Eller, Cornell University, presented a poster on “Influence of changing air chemistry on plant growth and reproduction: Effects of rising carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone on a model species” with co-author J. Sparks.

The winners of the Billings and New Phytologist Poster awards will receive a cash prize, and the winners and honorable mentions will also receive a complimentary book of their choice from Elsevier. Thanks to both New Phytologist, which contributes to the Billings fund (source of cash prize) and Elsevier for supporting our Section’s awards competition.

Sincerely,
Kiona Ogle and Zoe Cardon

Billings Award

The W.D. and S.M. Billings award is made to the graduate student whose oral presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America represents a significant advancement in physiological ecology. The award will be given to a student whose paper is judged to offer the rigor, creativity, importance, and presentation that sets a new standard in the discipline. The winner receives a $500 check from the Physiological Ecology section and will be able to select a complimentary book from the Academic Press list of publications. (The honorable mention winner also receives a complimentary book of his or her choice from Academic Press.) The award recognizes the life-time contributions by its namesakes, Dwight and Shirley Billings, to physiological ecology. Dwight built the foundation for physiological ecology in North America and provided leadership for the field throughout his illustrious career. Together, Dwight and Shirley have shown a deep regard for the interests and training of graduate students in this dynamic component of ecology.

2009 winner:

Doug Aubrey, University of Georgia, gave an oral presentation on “Root-derived CO2 efflux via xylem stream rivals soil CO2 efflux” with co-author R.O. Teskey.

Honorable mention: Greg Barron-Gafford, University of Arizona, gave a presentation on “ntegrating estimates of ecosystem respiration from eddy covariance towers with automated measures of soil respiration: Examining the development and influence of hysteresis in soil respiratory fluxes along a woody plant encroachment gradient” with co-authors R. Scott, G.D. Jennerette, and T.E. Huxman.

Honorable mention: Dena Vallano, Cornell University, gave a presentation on “Effects of direct foliar uptake of gaseous nitrogen dioxide on plant-herbivore interactions” with co-author S. Campbell.

Past winners:

The Billings Award was created with an initial gift from Shirley Billings. Further donations are needed and can be sent to the address below. Thank you for any contributions.

Billings Award
Ecological Society of America
1707 H Street, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20006

The New Phytologist Trust is pleased to announce that it will continue the commitment begun in 2000 to contribute $500 annually towards the Billings Award. New Phytologist, the broad spectrum plant science journal, was established in 1902 by the pioneer ecologist Arthur Tansley. It is a not-for-profit organization. The spirit of the Billings Award is very consistent with the goals of the New Phytologist Trust - to promote education and research in plant sciences. More information about activities of the New Phytologist Trust and links to the journal New Phytologist can be found at www.newphytologist.com.


New Phytologist Poster Award

This is given to the student with the best physiological ecology poster presentation at the annual ESA meeting. The winner receives a $500 check from the Physiological Ecology section and will be able to select a complimentary book from the Elsevier (formerly Academic Press) list of publications. (The honorable mention winner also receives a complimentary book courtesy of Academic Press.) In 2008 the Section renamed the “Best Poster award” to the “New Phytologist Poster award” in recognition of New Phytologist’s contribution to the Billings Fund, which provides a cash prize to both the Billings award winner for the best oral presentation and the New Phytologist award winner for the best poster.

2009 Winner:

Allyson Eller, Cornell University, presented a poster on “Influence of changing air chemistry on plant growth and reproduction: Effects of rising carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone on a model species” with co-author J. Sparks.

Past winners:


Eligibility requirements for both awards:

  1. The student entrant must be first author and presenter for the paper or poster.
  2. "Student" is defined as undergraduate or graduate student who is currently enrolled in a degree program or who finished his/her degree within the last 12 months.
  3. The student must be a Physiological Ecology section member at the time of the presentation. Not a member of the Physiological Ecology section? No problem -- it's easy to join. Just go to the ESA membership site, and on the application form scroll down to "Section & Chapter Affiliation" and select "Physiological Ecology Section". Annual membership dues are $3. You can join us at any time, but you must be a member of ESA. If you're not already a member of ESA, you can use the link above to join ESA at the same time. ESA memberships run January-December, regardless of when you join.

To enter the competitions:

Instructions will be posted later. The deadline for entry is generally early June.


Tips for Presenting Talks and Posters

For an enlightening discussion of what makes a good poster, check out the American Society of Plant Biology poster site. See also the following:

Designing effective posters
Poster and podium presentation
Survival skills for graduate students


Physiological Ecology Section home