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AESS Announces 2024 Award Winners

Contact: Carolyn Anthon

support@aessonline.org 

Office: (202) 503-4638 

June 20, 2024

For immediate release

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) has selected the four recipients of the 2024 AESS Awards to be recognized at a virtual ceremony during the AESS Annual Conference, June 20-21, 2024. Since 2010, these awards have recognized faculty, scholars and students in Environmental Studies and Sciences at all career stages who exemplify the highest standards of teaching, scholarship and service to the AESS community.

The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences is a scholarly and professional organization that promotes interdisciplinary research, teaching and service for faculty and students in the more than 1,000 Environmental academic programs nationwide and beyond.  

2024 Award Recipients

Dr. Stephanie Kaza has been awarded the William R. Freudenburg Lifetime Achievement Award.  Named for an AESS founder, Dr. William R. Freudenburg, this Award seeks to recognize and advance the spirit of AESS co-founder, the late Professor William R. Freudenburg, who spawned a new generation of environmental professionals and academics who have pursued interdisciplinary research to address some of the most pressing issues of our time. Through this award, AESS honors members of the profession who have also devoted their lives to strengthening our field by mentoring the next generation of environmental scientists and activists. Dr. Stephanie Kaza is Professor Emeritus in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont (UVM). She is a writer, a practicing Soto Zen Buddhist and tireless advocate for interdisciplinary studies. For many years, she served as the Director of the Environmental Program at UVM  and on the U.S. Council of Environmental Deans and Directors. Dr. Kaza has been a leader in the interdisciplinary field of environmental studies for most of her career. 

Dr. Kaza’s scholarly contributions reflect a commitment to integrative environmental scholarship. Her publications underscore the significance of humanities in interdisciplinary environmental studies. Notably, her last three books, published by the Buddhist press Shambala Publications, delve into the intersection of spirituality and ecology. Equally significant is Dr. Kaza’s impact as an educator. Throughout her extensive career, she has excelled in teaching and lecturing on various topics. In 2011, she received the UVM George V. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award, a testament to her excellence in teaching. Dr. Stephanie Kaza has a lifetime of commitment to interdisciplinary environmental studies and sciences. AESS is delighted to recognize her long-standing contributions to the organization as one of the founding members and to the field overall. 

Dr. Laurence Delina has been awarded the AESS Early Career Award. This Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments and promising future potential for teaching, research, policy, or activism in any field of environmental science and studies. Through this award, AESS honors individuals who are early in their careers, but have made significant contributions to knowledge, community and diversity in environmental studies and science, and have a career plan and trajectory that promise to continue and bolster such contributions. Dr. Delina’s research is primarily focused on climate, energy and resilience with a specific emphasis on vulnerable populations in Southeast Asia, his home region. The committee noted accomplishments as a scholar as well as dedication in the field – particularly the collaborative and consistent support of students and more junior researchers via the Delina Research Group. Dr. Delina exemplifies the spirit of AESS in terms of scholarly and participatory approaches to ESS.

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AESS Announces 2023 Award Winners

Contact: Carolyn Anthon

canthon@aessonline.org 

Office: (202) 503-4638 

July 21, 2023

For immediate release

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) recognized three recipients of the 2023 AESS Awards during the AESS Annual Conference, July 9-12, 2023. Since 2010, these awards have recognized faculty, scholars and students in Environmental Studies and Sciences at all career stages who exemplify the highest standards of teaching, scholarship and service to the AESS community.

The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences is a scholarly and professional organization that promotes interdisciplinary research, teaching and service for faculty and students in the more than 1,000 Environmental academic programs nationwide and beyond.  

2023 Award Recipients

Dr. James Proctor has been awarded the William R. Freudenburg Lifetime Achievement Award.  Named for an AESS founder, Dr. William R. Freudenburg, this Award seeks to recognize and advance the spirit of AESS co-founder, the late Professor William R. Freudenburg, who spawned a new generation of environmental professionals and academics who have pursued interdisciplinary research to address some of the most pressing issues of our time. Through this award, AESS honors members of the profession who have also devoted their lives to strengthening our field by mentoring the next generation of environmental scientists and activists. Jim Proctor is a Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at Lewis & Clark College, with a broad academic background spanning the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, and research interests in environmental theory. For over 30 years, Jim has been an innovative and productive scholar in Environmental Studies, an attentive and creative teacher in the ES classroom, and a generous and supportive mentor to many others in our interdisciplinary space. Jim was one of the founding members of AESS, and has written extensively about the discipline itself as well as many essential ideas in ESS, including social constructivism, environmental education, ideological conflict, and ethics. Most recently, he has developed the Ecotypes survey, an impressive synthesis of a variety of foundational ideas in ESS, and he is also heading the AESS Frameworks Project, a group working to understand and improve how ideological frameworks are understood and deployed in ESS classrooms. He has an incredible ability to bring people together around interesting topics and to create meaningful products from those efforts.

Dr. Lisa Powell has been awarded the AESS Early Career Award. This Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments and promising future potential for teaching, research, policy, or activism in any field of environmental science and studies.  Through this award, AESS honors individuals who are early in their careers, but have made significant contributions to knowledge, community and diversity in environmental studies and science, and have a career plan and trajectory that promise to continue and bolster such contributions. Lisa Powell is Director of the Center for Human and Environmental Sustainability, and Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Agriculture at Sweet Briar College in Virginia. Lisa is an interdisciplinary scholar of environments and food systems, whose research, teaching, and program development work weaves together her training in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, as well as her life-long involvement in her family’s farm. In her role as Director of Sweet Briar’s Center for Human and Environmental Sustainability, Lisa collaborates with students, faculty, staff, and surrounding communities on sustainability initiatives. She leads the academic and community-focused aspects of SBC’s agricultural areas, including the greenhouse, apiary, vineyard, garden, and forests. As a researcher, Lisa pursues a range of questions that all ultimately address human-environment relationships, most frequently in the contexts of food systems, policy, land use, and education.

Our Student Paper Award winner is Mr Peizhe Li . The AESS Student Paper Award recognizes the potential in graduate student research to create new insights and impact in environmental science and studies, and to engage with environmental policy, practice, and education.

Peizhe Li’s paper is titled “Climate adaptation planning for cultural heritages in coastal tourism destinations: A multi-objective optimization approach.” Peizhe Li is a graduate research and teaching assistant in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University. His research interests include human dimension of climate change, adaptation planning for cultural heritages, and tourists’ stress, emotions, and coping. He is passionate about addressing and exploring environmental and social issues of tourism and park management through research, education, and community engagement. We look forward to his continued impact on the world of ESS, as well as participation in the AESS Community.

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AESS Announces 2021 Award Winners

Contact: Carolyn Anthon

canthon@aessonline.org 

Office: (202) 503-4638 

June 10, 2021

For immediate release

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) has selected the four recipients of the 2021 AESS Awards to be recognized at a virtual ceremony during the AESS Annual Conference, June 28-July 1, 2021. Since 2010, these awards have recognized faculty, scholars and students in Environmental Studies and Sciences at all career stages who exemplify the highest standards of teaching, scholarship and service to the AESS community.

The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences is a scholarly and professional organization that promotes interdisciplinary research, teaching and service for faculty and students in the more than 1,000 Environmental academic programs nationwide and beyond.  

2021 Award Recipients

Dr. Abigail Abrash Walton has been awarded the William R. Freudenburg Lifetime Achievement Award.  Named for an AESS founder, Dr. William R. Freudenburg, this Award seeks to recognize and advance the spirit of AESS co-founder, the late Professor William R. Freudenburg, who spawned a new generation of environmental professionals and academics who have pursued interdisciplinary research to address some of the most pressing issues of our time. Through this award, AESS honors members of the profession who have also devoted their lives to strengthening our field by mentoring the next generation of environmental scientists and activists. Dr. Abrash Walton serves as an administrative leader and faculty in Antioch University’s Department of Environmental Studies. Her list of leadership roles include founding Steering Committee member of Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy, advisory board member of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, program directory for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, and presently Director of Environmental Studies and Interdisciplinary Programs and Co-directory of the Center for Climate Preparedness and Community Resilience program. Professor Abrash Walton prioritizes social justice and advocacy in sustainability efforts, which mirrors the priorities and values that are increasingly representing the AESS community. Her commitment to AESS is particularly strong, and she continues to drive collaborative efforts.

Dr. Chelsie Romulo and Dr. Cassandra Brooks have been awarded the AESS Early Career Award. This Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments and promising future potential for teaching, research, policy, or activism in any field of environmental science and studies.  Through this award, AESS honors individuals who are early in their careers, but have made significant contributions to knowledge, community and diversity in environmental studies and science, and have a career plan and trajectory that promise to continue and bolster such contributions. Dr. Romulo has produced outstanding applied scholarship with massive potential for impact. Her research at the University of Northern Colorado, where she is an assistant professor in Geography, GIS, and Sustainability focuses on conservation and natural resource management using a combination of remote sensing and economic analyses to understand impacts and options for natural resource use. Dr. Cassandra Brooks is driven to understand and contribute to environmental governance. She embraces interdisciplinary studies drawing on marine science, environmental policy, and science communication. Dr. Brooks is an assistant professor in Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Professors Romulo and Brooks exemplify the spirit of AESS in terms of scholarly and participatory approaches to ESS.

Our Student Paper Award winner is Ms. Urooj Raja. The AESS Student Paper Award recognizes the potential in graduate student research to create new insights and impact in environmental science and studies, and to engage with environmental policy, practice, and education. Ms. Raja is a PhD Candidate in environmental studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her research examines the potential of emerging technology like virtual reality to shrink psychological distance to ‘wicked’ environmental problems. She has garnered awards for her research and her work has been highlighted by media ranging from the New York Times to the Washington Post and used by The United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). We look forward to her continued impact on the world of ESS, as well as participation in the AESS Community.

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AESS Announces 2020 Award Winners

The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences Honors Awardees

by Valerie Banschbach | May 19, 2020

Contact: Carolyn Anthon

canthon@aessonline.org 

Office: (202) 503-4638 

May 19, 2020

For immediate release

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) has selected the three recipients of the 2020 AESS Awards to be recognized at a virtual ceremony during the AESS Annual Conference, July 15-17, 2020. Since 2010, these awards have recognized faculty, scholars and students in Environmental Studies and Sciences at all career stages who exemplify the highest standards of teaching, scholarship and service to the AESS community.

The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences is a scholarly and professional organization that promotes interdisciplinary research, teaching and service for faculty and students in the more than 1,000 Environmental academic programs nationwide and beyond.  

2020 Award Recipients

Dr. Kim Smith has been awarded the William R. Freudenburg Lifetime Achievement Award.  Named for an AESS founder, Dr. William R. Freudenburg, this Award seeks to recognize and advance the spirit of AESS co-founder, the late Professor William R. Freudenburg, who spawned a new generation of environmental professionals and academics who have pursued interdisciplinary research to address some of the most pressing issues of our time. Through this award, AESS honors members of the profession who have also devoted their lives to strengthening our field by mentoring the next generation of environmental scientists and activists.  Dr. Smith meets and exceeds those criteria.  She is a founding member and Past-President of AESS. She serves as Professor of Environmental Studies and Political Science at Carleton College, in Northfield, Minnesota, a highly selective, private liberal arts college.  Professor Smith is a long-time and unfailing supporter of AESS.  She has attracted and supported new membership and new scholars in AESS by leading workshops on “How to Get Published” in Environmental Studies and Sciences, chairing the Nominations Committee and working tirelessly to improve AESS.  She is a top scholar in Environmental Studies and Political Science, and through her work has advanced our understanding of, and capacity to effectively address, political science and ethical issues in environmental studies and sciences.  Her six books and dozens of articles are widely recognized and award winning. We at AESS owe a great debt of gratitude to Dr. Smith.

Dr. Susan Caplow has been awarded the AESS Early Career Award. This Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments and promising future potential for teaching, research, policy, or activism in any field of environmental science and studies.  Through this award, AESS honors individuals who are early in their careers, but have made significant contributions to knowledge, community and diversity in environmental studies and science, and have a career plan and trajectory that promise to continue and bolster such contributions.  Dr. Caplow combines a profound emphasis on each of the areas of teaching, research, and community engagement.  She founded one of only a handful of ESS programs in higher education in Alabama, and also developed an environmental education program that serves K-12 as part of her work as Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Montevallo, in Montevallo, Alabama.  She has made tremendous efforts to engage the community in sustainability events/projects, and also to institutionalize sustainability in the municipal government of Montevallo, Alabama. Meanwhile, Dr. Caplow has established an impressive publication record, with articles in environmental education, how engagement influences environmental values, and conservation evaluation. For several consecutive years, Dr. Caplow has shared her ESS Program development skills with other faculty at a “Lone Wolves” workshop at the annual AESS Conference, co-organized with colleagues.  Professor Caplow exemplifies the spirit of AESS in terms of her pedagogical, scholarly, and participatory approaches to ESS and has already proven herself a leader in the AESS community.

Our Best Student Paper Award winner is Ms. Hanna Morris.  The AESS Student Paper Award recognizes the potential in graduate student research to create new insights and impact in environmental science and studies, and to engage with environmental policy, practice, and education. Ms. Morris’s timely work on the Green New Deal, analyzes discursive strategies across the news media of discrediting the proposal through ‘othering’ millenials and thereby suppressing democratic deliberation.  Ms. Morris is a PhD Candidate at the Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania and a current AESS member. She has garnered awards for her work from the International Environmental Communication Association and serves on the Board of Directors of that organization.  Ms. Morris has presented her work in numerous scholarly venues and her work has been highlighted by media ranging from VAN EYCK News to Impact Radio.  We look forward to her continued impact on the world of ESS and Environmental Communications, as well as participation in the AESS Community.

Dr. Susan Caplow

used with permission from S. Caplow

Ms. Hanna Morris

used with permission from H. Morris

Dr. Kim Smith

used with permission from K. Smith

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