IAB awards 2019

IAB awards 2019

Spruce award: for important contributions to bryology in first 25 years of professional career

Dr. Matt Renner (Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia)

Dr. Renner has made extraordinary contributions to our knowledge of bryology, extending to evolutionary biology in general. His main focus has been on systematics and taxonomy and evolutionary biology, as well as ecology, and translating this into action into conservation.

Hattori prize: for best publication or series of publication in the preceding two years

Dr. Juan Guerra (University of Murcia, Spain)forFlora Briofítica Ibérica (Iberian Bryophyte Flora), Volumen VI (Hypnales).Juan Guerra & Montserrat Brugués (general coordinators of Flora Briofítica Ibérica)Juan Guerra, María-Jesús Cano & Montserrat Brugués (editors of Volume VI). Published by Universidad de Murcia & Sociedad Española de Briología Murcia, Spain (2018)

This is the sixth and last volume of the Project Flora Briofitica Iberica/Iberian Bryophyte Flora, led from its beginning by Prof. Juan Guerra. His tirelessly work, and his leadership and coordination capacity to join the efforts of a high-quality bryological team, finally has come to a fruitful end. This last volume was published in 2018, completing a project that began in 2003. The complete Flora comprised the mosses of a vast and biogeographically fascinating territory: peninsular Spain and Portugal, Andorra, and the Balearic Islands. Some samples of the Flora-related publications can be found in its website (http://www.florabriofiticaiberica.com/).

Grolle award: for Excellence in Bryodiversity Research 

Dr. Juan Larrain (Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, Chile)

Dr. Larraín has had an active field program in Chile for many years, with an emphasis on Chiloé Island, and contributions to the flora New Caledonia and Fiji. Juan has worked on both mosses and hepatics. For many years, he has done general bryophyte identification with an emphasis on Chile. His doctoral dissertation was a revision of the Latin American species of Racomitriumalong with a phylogeny of the genus. On his Field Museum post-doc he worked on the genus Frullania. His work stands out because he uses both specimen-based morphology as well as molecular data to reach conclusions. He actively publishes his results in peer-reviewed journals. Most recently Juan has had post-doctoral funding from the Chilean government. Throughout his time in Chile he has actively worked to improve the herbarium and its holdings at the Universidad de Concepción. 

Stanley Greene research awards:

Eugene Lorence R. Logatoc (University of the Philippines, Los Baños): Bryophyte diversity and conservation in the Kaigangan Forest of Samar Island, Philippines. Award ($1,000)

Brian EspinozaPrieto (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Peru):Taxonomy and distribution of the genus Frullania in Peru. Award ($500).

Travel awards:

IAB provided travel awards to facilitate attendance by the following students:

Mathilde Ruche, Marta Nieto-Lugilde, Yoira Rivera Queralta, Eyvar Elias Rodriguez Quiel, Athita Senayai, Sonja Thielen, Kavita Negi, Ainun Nadhifah, Mohamed Farag