FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2023
Contact: Beth Beard
[email protected]
ERIC PALKOVACS OF UC SANTA CRUZ RECEIVES EXCELLENCE IN FISHERIES EDUCATION AWARD
FROM THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY
Eric Palkovacs
(Grand Rapids, Michigan) August 23, 2023 –Eric Palkovacs, Ph.D., of the University of California Santa Cruz, received the Excellence in Fisheries Education Award at the American Fisheries Society (AFS) 153rd Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. AFS President April Croxton announced the award at the Business Meeting of the Society. The Excellence in Fisheries Education Award is presented to an individual to recognize excellence in organized teaching and advising in some aspect of fisheries education.
Dr. Palkovacs is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz. He is also Director of the Fisheries Collaborative Program, which supports collaborative projects between UC Santa Cruz and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center. His research interests include freshwater ecology, eco-evolutionary dynamics, fish ecology, fisheries management, and conservation. He is particularly interested in the ecological consequences of intraspecific genetic and phenotypic variation and applications of eco-evolutionary dynamics for fisheries management. He is actively engaged in conservation and management of anadromous fishes, such as salmon, on the U.S. Pacific coast and river herring on the U.S. Atlantic coast.
Dr. Palkovacs has made key contributions to fisheries education through his teaching, mentoring, and DEI activities. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in freshwater ecology and fisheries ecology. His courses engage students in active learning and connect theory with practical applications. He is an engaged mentor for undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. He has advised 11 Ph.D. students, 5 master’s students, 10 postdoctoral researchers, and many undergraduate thesis projects. He has served on numerous graduate advisory committees. His students and postdocs have gone onto careers in academia, state and federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Dr. Palkovacs is active in broadening diversity and creating an inclusive culture by launching programs such as the “Diverse Voices in Fisheries Science” seminar series. He has been the faculty mentor for the Santa Cruz-Monterey Bay Area Student Subunit of AFS since its founding in 2015.
“For those who know my work, you might know that I am interested in ‘extended phenotypes’ – the traits of organisms that go on to shape their environments,” Palkovacs said. “To me, teaching and mentoring are our most powerful ‘extended phenotypes.’ Through these, we can share knowledge and experience, inspire new ways of thinking and acting, and build community and broaden diversity. We are all both mentors and mentees. I encourage everybody to exercise your own ‘extended phenotype’ for the betterment of our field, our fisheries, and our world.”
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Editor’s Notes:
Founded in 1870, the American Fisheries Society (AFS) is the world’s oldest and largest fisheries science society. The mission of AFS is to improve the conservation and sustainability of fishery resources and aquatic ecosystems by advancing fisheries and aquatic science and promoting the development of fisheries professionals. With five journals and numerous books and conferences, AFS is the leading source of fisheries science and management information in North America and around the world.
General link: fisheries.org
Link to AFS Annual Meeting: https://afsannualmeeting.fisheries.org/