The American Ornithological Society (AOS) Loye and Alden Miller Research Award is given for lifetime achievement in ornithological research. Loye Holmes Miller and his son, Alden, left a remarkable legacy to the field of ornithology and to the Cooper Ornithological Society (COS). Together they sponsored 30 Ph.D. students, 28 in avian biology, and their students trained, in turn, a total of 166. Alden also made contributions to the COS and to ornithology as a long-standing editor of The Condor. Previous recipients who were present at the 2018 meeting include Ellen Ketterson and Sue Haig. This year, the AOS is pleased to honor Janis Dickinson as the recipient of the Loye and Alden Miller Research Award.

Janis began her career at Hastings Natural History Reservation as an affiliated faculty member with the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley, with postdoctoral fellowships from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, and then in an appointment as a research zoologist. In 2005, she joined the faculty at Cornell University as the Arthur A. Allen Director of Citizen Science, with a joint appointment between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Department of Natural Resources, where she remained until her retirement in 2017.

Janis has had a distinguished career in behavioral ecology and conservation biology. She has made important contributions to ornithology in three main areas: the behavioral ecology of animal mating systems, the evolutionary ecology of cooperative breeding in vertebrates, and the role of citizen science in advancing ornithology. Her scientific output includes more than 80 peer-reviewed papers and three edited books. Janis was also a successful mentor for graduate students and postdocs who have continued in careers in ornithology.

(left) Janis Dickinson. (right) AOS President Steve Beissinger presenting Janis Dickinson with her award at the 2018 AOS annual meeting in Tucson, Arizona.

For her lifetime contributions to the understanding of avian behavioral ecology and citizen science, the AOS is proud to present the Loye and Alden Miller Research Award to Dr. Janis Dickinson.