Award categories
Eugène Penard - Career Achievement Award
The Eugène Penard Career Achievement Award recognizes an outstanding scientist in recognition of career achievements over the course of their career in the field of testate amoebae research. The award is named in honor of Eugène Penard (1855-1954), a Swiss pioneer in the detailed study of the morphology, ecology and taxonomy of testate amoebae and allied groups. In his 78 publications, including several lengthy monographs, he described 530 new taxa from material collected from as far afield as South America, India and Antarctica. With his unbounded passionate energy for research, incredible power of concentration, and amazing memory for detail, Penard remains an exemplary role model for testate amoebae researchers to this day. Many modern publications still reproduce figures originally published by Penard.
The Eugène Penard Award was established in 2018.
We are very thankful for initial funding for this award by the Natural History Museum of Geneva.
Joseph Leidy - Research Achievement Award
The Joseph Leidy Research Achievement Award acknowledges the exceptional contributions of a scientist in the middle to later stages of their career, who has demonstrated remarkable research accomplishments in the field of testate amoebae studies. The award pays tribute to Joseph Leidy (1823-1891), a distinguished American scientist who made significant research contributions in diverse areas such as vertebrate paleontology, parasitology, anatomy, forensic science, and protozoology. Relevant to the field of testate amoebae research, his groundbreaking 1879 work, "Freshwater Rhizopods of North America," with its exquisite illustrations, remains an important reference for contemporary researchers in the field. Joseph Leidy possessed a remarkably comprehensive understanding of Natural History within the knowledge available in his era, and he was instrumental in establishing a significant portion of it. Thus, laying the groundwork for subsequent generations of scientists who followed in his footsteps. He had a prolific publishing career, producing a remarkable 1500 papers and monographs over the course of his professional life. Leidy emerged as a prominent figure in a time when the microscope wasn't widely recognized as a significant tool for research, yet he played a pivotal role in establishing its importance in the scientific community.
The Joseph Leidy Award was established in 2023.
Helen Tappan - Early Career Researcher Award
The Helen Tappan Early Career Researcher Award is presented to an outstanding testate amoebae researcher, who has completed their Ph.D. research in the last ten years and is based on the body of the nominees published research to date. The award is named in honor of American Helen Tappan (1917-2004), a 20th century leader in several subdisciplines of micropaleontology and palynology. Tappan is best remembered for her many landmark and seminal papers and books, as well as her prodigious scientific output, both as sole author and in collaboration with her husband Alfred R. Loeblich Jr. Together, or individually, they published nearly 300 scientific papers, or books. She had an expertise in foraminifera, diatoms, coccoliths, dinoflagellates, chrysophyte cysts, radiolaria, as well as acritarchs and prasinophytes. Most pertinent to ISTAR was publication, in collaboration with Loeblich, of the landmark 1964 two-volume Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part C. Protista 2. Sarcodina, chiefly ‘Thecamoebians’ and Foraminiferida. Such a wide range of expertise was a testimony to Tappan’s wide breadth and knowledge. In addition to her many scientific accomplishments and honors Tappan was humble, soft-spoken and kind to everyone. She led by example, was extremely generous with her time and expertise, and always had time for her students.
The Helen Tappan Award was established in 2018.
Herbert Spencer Jennings - Best Student Research Paper Award
The Herbert Spencer Jennings Best Student Research Paper Award is presented in recognition of a student lead authored publication that has made a significant contribution in the field of testate amoebae research. Nomination are limited to papers published from since the previous ISTA meeting (typically in the last 2 years) and must have been at least published online (with doi or equivalent) at the time of nomination. The award is named in honor of Herbert Spencer Jennings(1868-1947), an American zoologist and geneticist. Jennings was the first researcher to use microorganisms to study behavior and genetics, and in his work with Difflugia he demonstrated template replication of some test structures. His 1916 paper “Heredity variation and the results of selection on the uniparental reproduction of Difflugia (Genetics 1: 407-534) is still considered to be a landmark work in the field of population genetics. Jennings was also a pioneer in the use of biostatistics to understand the influence of environmental variables on morphologic variability in testate amoebae.
The Herbert Spencer Jennings Award was established in 2018.
Awardees
Eugène Penard - Career Achievement Award
2023: Louis Beyens
2018: Ralf Meisterfeld
Joseph Leidy - Research Achievement Award
2023: Edward A. D. Mitchell
Helen Tappan - Early Career Researcher Award
2023: Kenneth Dumack & Anush Kosakyan
2018: Stefan Geisen & David Singer
Herbert Spencer Jennings - Best Student Research Paper Award
2023: Rubén González Miguéns & Giulia Magri Ribeiro
2018: Nawaf Nasser