AMSA / VMSC Award
In 2007, the VMSC Management Committee initiated a student prize to be awarded at the AMSA annual conference for the best presentation focussing on temperate marine science.
AMSA 2011
Congratulations to the 2011 VMSC/AMSA award winner Justin Lathlean from the University of Wollongong.
Congratulations also go to Kade Mills, PhD candidate, Deakin University, for receiving the Ron Kenny Student Presentation Prize for the best oral presentation of research results. The prize is named in honour of Assoc. Prof. Ron Kenny, a foundation member of the Association and editor of the AMSA Bulletin for nine years until his death in August 1987. The purpose of the prize is to reward excellence in scientific work by students in any field of marine science, and to encourage a high standard of scientific communication. This prize is provided by a special Trust Fund maintained by AMSA, and is the Association's major form of recognition and encouragement of student effort. Kade's award winning presentation was titled : Evaluation of recreational fishing reefs for enhancing fishing opportunities in Port Phillip Bay – comparison of monitoring data and boat ramp surveys. Congratulations Kade!
Past Winners
2010
Dan Coleman completed his Honours at the University of Wollongong (UOW). His presentation, at the 47th Annual AMSA Conference held at UOW from 4 - 8 July, was judged best student presentation focusing on temperate marine science. Dan's talk, titled Shell repair in an acidifying ocean: impacts on gastropod shell growth and integrity, and was the result of his Honours project. After completing his Honours degree, Dan received the UOW Bachelor of Marine Science Award for Best Performance in the Bachelor of Marine Science Honours Year 2009.
2009
Joanne Banks, PhD candidate from the Department of Zoology, The University of Melbourne, was our winner in 2009. Jo's presentation was titled: From sink to source: how changing oxygen conditions can remobilise heavy metals from contaminated sediments. AMSA2009 was held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 5 - 9 July 2009.
2008
Alexandra Campbell was our winner in 2008. Alexandra is from the University of New South Wales and her presentation was based on her Honours project completed in 2002 at UNSW, titled The effects of herbivorous amphipods on macroalgae. In 2006 Alexandra commenced a PhD at UNSW, under the supervision of Professor Peter Steinberg, titled Climate change and emerging disease: bleaching and bacterial infection of a macroalga. AMSA2008 was held in Christchurch as a joint conference with the New Zealand Marine Science Society.
2007
For the inaugural award in 2007, judges could not separate two outstanding students - Joyce Ong and Trudy Costa - and the award was divided. Joyce Ong presented the results of her honours work - Identifying larval dispersal scales of (Galaxias maculatus), a diadromous fish, in Victoria. Joyce was supervised by Dr Stephen Swearer and Nicole Barbee at The University of Melbourne. Trudy Costa is a PhD student supervised by Dr Tim O'Hara of Museum Victoria and Professor Mick Keough at The University of Melbourne. Her presentation on Detecting anthropogenic disturbances in the rocky intertidal: a study of rocky shores in Victoria was based on work done on the Mornington Peninsula. Joyce and Trudy's presentations were made at the AMSA 45th Annual Conference - Marine science in a changing world - was held at The University of Melbourne from 9-13 July 2007.