Established in 1993, this award is the highest honor for graduate students in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Demonstrated excellence in scholarship and scientific contributions to ecology and evolutionary biology are the main criteria for the award.
Recent Awardees
2023 - Sarah Britton
2021 - Yichao Zeng
2020 - Cristian Roman-Palacios
2019 - Zheng Li
List and Bios of all Awardees
About Dr. Hoshaw
Robert Hoshaw received his undergraduate degree from Purdue University (1942) and then served in World War II as an officer in the South Pacific from 1943-1946. He returned to Purdue for his MS (1948) and PhD (1950). Hoshaw then took an instructor position at the University of Arizona, where he spent his entire professional career teaching and doing research in botanical science. The university honored Dr. Hoshaw with a Faculty of Science Teaching Career Award in 1990. Dr. Hoshaw passed away on January 7, 1993; he was 71.
Dr. Hoshaw's research began with studies of corn and oak physiology, and he asserted that his primary professional interest was botany. Bob's research interests turned to algae after a year's sabbatical with Dr. Richard Starr at Indiana University. As a result of that experience, Hoshaw began what would be three-decade study of the order Zygnematales. He published over 50 articles and book chapters on algae, including studies of morphology, life histories, cytology and systematics of Zygnematales. At the time of his death, he was actively engaged in research on molecular systematics and evolution in Zygnematales using gene sequence data from chloroplast DNA.
Dr. Hoshaw's dedication to his science did not stop with his own students and research. he was an indefatigable working for phycological causes, particularly through activities of the Phycological Society of America. he was President of the the PSA (1973) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees (1979-1989). In the latter role, Hoshaw was instrumental in establishing the Endowment Fund for the PSA, which now provides the financial infrastructure for scholarly awards, student programs and publishing activities that benefit the entire phycological community.
Information from:
Obituary in Phycologia, 1993, Volume 32 (6), p. 471 by Dr. Richard McCourt
Chapter by Dr. Richard McCourt in Prominent Phycologists of the 20th Century, 1996, edited by David J. Garbary and Michael J. Wynne