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Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Achievement Award Recipients

The Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) recognizes excellence in and service to the fields of coastal and estuarine science, management and education through several scientific and service awards. The recipients of these awards embody the mission of CERF to advance understanding and wise stewardship of estuarine and coastal ecosystems worldwide by promoting research in estuarine and coastal ecosystems; supporting education of scientists, decision-makers and the public; and facilitating communication among these groups. Awards are presented every two years in conjunction with the biennial conference.

Learn more about the CERF Achievement Awards Process

Odum Award - Lifetime Achievement

The Odum Award is named for the three outstanding ecological scientists in the Odum family: Howard T. Odum; Eugene P. Odum; and William E. Odum, III. This award recognizes the lifetime achievements of an outstanding estuarine scientist whose sustained accomplishments have made important contributions to our understanding of estuaries and coastal ecosystems.

1997    Donald Pritchard, Johns Hopkins University

1999    John Teal, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

2001    Lawrence Pomeroy, University of Georgia

2003    Scott Nixon, University of Rhode Island

2005    John Hobbie, Marine Biological Laboratory

2007    Grace Brush, Johns Hopkins University

2009    Walter Boynton and Michael Kemp, University of Maryland

2011    Hans W. Paerl, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

2013    Ivan Valiela, Marine Biological Laboratory

2015    Joy Zedler, University of Wisconsin

2017    James E. Cloern, US Geological Survey

2019    Iris Anderson, Virginia Institute of Marine Science and College of William & Mary

2021   Robert J. Orth, Virginia Institute of Marine Science and College of William & Mary;  Kenneth L. Heck Jr., Dauphin Island Sea Lab & University of South Alabama

2023   R. Eugene Turner, Louisiana State University

Cronin Award - Early Achievement

The Cronin Award is named for L. Eugene Cronin, Sr., the first president of ERF and a significant contributor to estuarine science and our organization. This award recognizes the significant accomplishments of an estuarine scientist who is in the early stages of his/her career development. The recipient will have shown great promise with work carried out during the first six years past the PhD.

1997    Samantha Joye, University of Georgia

1999    Bradley Eyre, Southern Cross University

2001    Jaye Ellen Cable, Louisiana State University

2003    Lisa Lucas, US Geological Survey

2005    Peter Raymond, Yale School of Forestry

2007    Elizabeth North, University of Maryland

2009    Malcolm Scully, Old Dominion University

2011    Isaac R. Santos, Southern Cross University

2013    Robinson "Wally" Fulweiler, Boston University

2015    Autumn Oczkowski, US Environmental Protection Agency

2017   Damien Maher, Southern Cross University

2019   Christine Angelini, University of Florida

2021   Hamed Moftakhari, The University of Alabama

2023   Michael Sievers, Giffith University

Pritchard Award - Physical Oceanography Paper

This award was established to honor Donald W. Pritchard, whose insightful research on the physical dynamics of coastal systems set the stage for much of the research in physical oceanography that is being conducted today. The Pritchard Award recognizes the author(s) of the best physical oceanography paper published in Estuaries and Coasts within the two-year interval between CERF conferences.

2003   
W. Rockwell Geyer, Jonathan D. Woodruff, and Peter A. Traykovski, WHOI

2005 
Parker MacCready, University of Washington, Seattle

2007  
Lisa Lucas, USGS, Menlo Park; D.M. Sereno, UC Berkeley; J.R. Burau, USGS, Sacaramento; T.S. Schraga, USGS, Menlo Park; C.B. Lopez, NOAA, Silver Spring; M.T. Stacey, UC Berkeley; K.V. Parchevsky, Stanford U., Stanford; and V.P. Parchevsky, Inst. Biol. Southern Seas, Ukraine

2009
Jon French, University College London; Helene Burningham, University College London; Thomas Benson, HR Wallingford Ltd, Oxon, UK

2011 
Stephen G. Monismith, Stanford University; James L. Hench, Duke University; Derek A. Fong, Stanford University; Nicholas J. Nidzieko, University of Maryland; William E. Fleenor, University of California, Davis; Laura P. Doyle, University of California, Davis; S. Geoffrey Schladow, University of California, Davis

2013   
Neil K.Ganju, U.S. Geological Survey; Melanie Hayn, Cornell University; Shih-Nan Chen, National Taiwan University; Robert W. Howarth, Cornell University; Patrick J. Dickhudt, USGS; Alfredo L. Aretxabaleta, USGS; and Roxanne Marino, Cornell University

2015    
Jennifer Hansen, University of Virginia; Matthew Reidenbach, University of Virginia

2017
David K. Ralston, WHOI; Michael L. Brosnahan, WHOI; Sophia E. Fox, National Park Service; Krista D. Lee, National Park Service; Donald M. Anderson, WHOI

2019
Robert J. Chant, Rutgers University; Christopher K. Sommerfield, University of Delaware; Stefan A. Talke, Portland State University

2021
Margaret A. McKeon, University of Washington; Alexander Horner-Devine, University of Washington; Sarah N. Giddings, Scripps Institutions of Oceanography, UCSD

2023
Sohaib Alahmed, Halff Engineering and Architecture Firm; Lauren Ross, University of Maine; Sean M.C. Smith, University of Maine

William A. Niering Outstanding Educator Award

To recognize the central role that education plays in achieving the objectives of our society, the Federation's Governing Board established an award named for a leader in estuarine education, William A. Niering. The Award is for an individual who has played a particularly important role in education at any level -- from primary school to the graduate level, inside or out of the classroom, or in the education of the general public through outreach activities.

2001    Joy Zedler, University of Wisconsin

2003    John Day, Louisiana State University

2005    Ivan Valiela, Marine Biological Laboratory

2007    Alejandro Yáñez-Arancibia, Institute of Ecology A.C., Mexico

2009    Scott Warren, Connecticut College

2011    Linda Walters, University of Central Florida

2013    Paul Montagna, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

2015    Peggy Fong, UCLA

2017    Drew Talley, University of San Diego

2019    Susan Bell, University of South Florida

2021    Katharyn Boyer, San Francisco State University

2023    Pedro Morais, S2AQUA - Collaborative Laboratory, Association for a Sustainable and Smart Aquaculture

Margaret A. Davidson Award for Stewardship

This award recognizes an individual that demonstrates extraordinary leadership, service, innovation, and commitment to the management of estuarine and coastal systems. This award also recognizes those who have worked in the estuarine and coastal arena and excelled in management and policy. 

2017    William Dennison, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

2019    Merryl Alber, Unversity of Georgia

2021    Christine Baumann Feurt, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve

2023     David Eggleston, North Carolina State University / NCSU Center for Marine Science and Technology

Coastal Stewardship Award for Stewardship (Organization)

CERF established the Coastal Stewardship Award to honor notable achievements in promoting the wise management of estuarine and coastal systems. This award recognizes specific projects, programs and organizations for their exemplary stewardship activities, including success in management, policy, restoration, and conservation efforts. CERF appreciates the multiple scales at which impacts may be achieved; accordingly, the Coastal Stewardship Awards are occasional awards and may represent a hierarchy of recognition at CERF biennial conferences. If given, one or more awards of recognition could be presented biennially in association with the CERF conferences, beginning in 2017.

2017    Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium of Tampa Bay NEP

2021    Buzzards Bay Coalition

2023    The Nature Conservancy, Alabama Chapter

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Award

This award recognizes the significant contributions of an individual who has worked for greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in estuarine and coastal science, management, education, and/or stewardship. It honors a person who demonstrates exceptional long-term or emerging leadership and commitment to positive change.

2021    Ashanti Johnson, East Central University & STEM Human Resource Development 

2023    Tiara Moore, Black in Marine Science 

Distinguished Service Award

The Distinguished Service Award recipient is selected by the CERF President for their exceptional volunteer service to the Federation.

1993    Robert J. Orth and Jerome Williams

1995    L. Harold Stevenson

1997    James Sanders

1999    Anne Miller

2001    Joy Bartholomew

2003    Walter R. Boynton

2005    Scott Nixon

2007    Linda Schaffner and Stephen Threlkeld

2009    Carolyn Keefe

2011    Robert R. Christian

2013    Susan Williams

2015    Janet Nestlerode

2017    Veronica Berounsky

2019    Ruth Carmichael

2021    Hilary Neckles 

2023    Treda Grayson