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Bruce Naylor Award:
Past Winners

 

 

Dr. Pierre Brunel

© Frédéric Brunel

2023
Dr. Pierre Brunel is a marine ecologist and retired Biology professor from Université de Montréal. Throughout is long career, he published many papers on the ecology and taxonomy of marine invertebrates, particularly from the bottom communities of the St. Lawrence marine ecosystems. His absolute passion for the subject started early in his career, at least 70 years ago, and continues to this day. An excellent teacher, he has transferred this passion to many students over the years, several of which have followed his path and established themselves in the field of marine ecology.


Professor Brunel has developed a very large collection (more than 60K samples) of marine invertebrates based on his research, that of his students, as well as material from many orphaned collections. His well-documented and carefully conserved collection is now housed at the Natural Heritage Campus of the Canadian Museum of Nature, in Gatineau, QC. Professor Brunel has devoted many years to documenting Québec’s biodiversity and raising the awareness and importance of biodiversity amongst professionals and politicians.
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Dr. Reginald Webster

2022
Dr. Reginald Webster is an entomologist. In more than 100 scientific papers, he has revealed the diversity of Canadian insects, particularly beetles, but also butterflies and mosquitoes Dr. Webster has personally documented more than a 1000 beetle species new to Atlantic Canada, many of them important in terms of forest management and ecosystem function. Among those 1200 or so beetle species new to New Brunswick are also more than several dozen that Dr. Webster and colleagues have described as new to science. His contributions have not been confined to New Brunswick. His papers have also reported on beetles new to Nova Scotia, Manitoba, British Columbia, and the Yukon, and especially Prince Edward Island.


Dr. Webster received his PhD from the University of Michigan for studies related to pheromones and the control of insect agricultural pests. Originally from the USA, he began his working career in Canada following post-docs in the US and Quebec helping to develop pheromones to control forest insect pests. Dr. Webster’s contributions have not been limited to field studies of insects and collections building. He was heavily involved in the first Maritime Butterfly Atlas, a citizen science project that will provide the baseline for future monitoring of this popular and important group of insects. He has mentored a number of students with interests in entomology. All have benefited greatly from his guidance and several are now pursuing graduate degrees in entomology. Now officially retired, Dr. Webster continues to be productive and he has expanded his field surveys to cover micro-moths, often an extremely challenging group to identify. His remarkable eye for microhabitat has resulted in dozens of species new to the Maritimes and the science of New Brunswick entomology is all the richer for it.
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Dr. Randall Mooi

2021
Dr. Randall Mooi was the 2021 recipient of the Alliance of Natural History Museum’s (ANHMC) Bruce Naylor Award. The award is given annually to an individual or individuals to recognize achievement of national or international significance in the field of natural history in Canada. The award was presented to Dr. Mooi at the annual ANHMC Fall meeting hosted virtually by The Manitoba Museum, Winnipeg Manitoba on October 4th.


Dr. Mooi’s passion for curatorial work started at a very early age as a boy visiting the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto. After a Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, researching the evolutionary history of coral reef fishes at the ROM, he did a year of postdoctoral work at the Smithsonian Institute, and then was appointed Curator of Fishes at the Milwaukee Public Museum. In 2004, Dr. Mooi accepted the position of Curator of Zoology at The Manitoba Museum. His passion spurred considerable contributions such as publishing original science, serving on editorial boards, delivering engaging lectures, creating many exciting exhibits and co-leading a major citizen science project.
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Geoffrey G.E. Scudder

2020
Dr. Geoffrey G.E. Scudder is the 2020 recipient of the Alliance of Natural History Museum’s (ANHMC) Bruce Naylor Award. The award is given annually to an individual or individuals to recognize achievement of national or international significance in the field of natural history in Canada. The award will be presented to Dr. Scudder at the annual ANHMC Fall meeting hosted virtually by the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre, Whitehorse, Yukon on October 19th.


Dr. Scudder, zoologist, conservationist, educator and influential scientist has a long and distinguished record of service in science and has been a source of inspiration to many. He is a renowned entomologist and served as Professor and Head of the Zoology Department, and Director of the Spencer Entomological Museum, now in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at the University of British Columbia. A champion of natural history collections and research based on them, he also continues to contribute significantly to the development of a sound strategy on biodiversity science and nature conservation in Canada.
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The Contributions and Achievements of Geoffrey Scudder

 

John E. Storer

2019
Dr. John E. Storer is the 2019 recipient of the Alliance of Natural History Museum’s (ANHMC)
Bruce Naylor Award. The award will be presented to Dr. John E. Storer at the annual ANHMC reception hosted by the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) on September 30th in Regina, Saskatchewan.


Dr. Storer has made extensive contributions to palaeontology and natural history in Canada. He has a strong connection to the RSM, having worked there as a palaeontologist, museum director and curator. He also has Alberta connections, as the first palaeontologist hired at the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) in the early 1970s. He not only made major contributions in Saskatchewan and Alberta but also in the Yukon, where he worked as a palaeontologist and was active in the establishment of the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre. Although retired, he is by no means inactive. He continues to pursue his palaeontological passion as an independent researcher. Dr. Storer has worked on North American fossils from the Cretaceous to the Recent and he is a leading authority on several mammalian groups, including the very challenging Rodentia.
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Diana Bizecki Robson

2018
Dr. Diana Bizecki Robson is the 2018 recipient of the Alliance of Natural History Museum’s (ANHMC) Bruce Naylor Award. The award will be presented to Dr. Bizecki Robson at the annual ANHMC reception hosted by the Royal Alberta Museum on October 15th in Edmonton, Alberta.

Dr. Bizecki Robson, Curator of Botany at The Manitoba Museum has devoted her career towards researching and interpreting the ecological interactions between prairie plants, their pollinators and their environment. Nominated by her peers, Dr. Bizecki Robson has excelled in research and public outreach, including development of exhibits, publications and lectures. In particular, she has devoted countless hours to furthering goals of various natural history organizations. She served as president of Nature Saskatchewan, The Saskatoon Nature Society and most recently, the Manitoba Association of Plant Biologists. Dr. Bizecki Robson was recently awarded the inaugural James Fletcher Award for best paper for “Distribution and ecology of a new species of water-lily, Nymphaea loriana (Nymphaeaceae) in Western Canada” published in The Canadian Field-Naturalist in 2016.
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Irwin Brodo

2017
Dr. Irwin Brodo is the 2017 recipient of the Alliance of Natural History Museum’s (ANHMC) Bruce Naylor Award. The award is given annually to an individual or individuals to recognize achievement of national or international significance in the field of natural history in Canada. The award will be presented to Dr. Brodo at the annual ANHMC reception hosted by the New Brunswick Museum on October 16th in Saint John, New Brunswick. Well known in Canada and internationally, Dr. Brodo has served at the Canadian Museum of Nature as staff and Honorary Research Associate for over 50 years.
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Stephen Clayden

2016
Dr. Stephen Clayden is the 2016 recipient of the Alliance of Natural History Museum’s (ANHMC) Bruce Naylor Award. Well known in New Brunswick, Canada and internationally, Dr. Stephen Clayden is the Museum’s Research Curator and Head of the Botany and Mycology Section at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Nominated by his peers, Dr. Clayden has devoted a 30-year career to advancing understanding of the flora of Atlantic Canada. There is no other botanist in Canada with his breadth of knowledge of the vegetation of the Atlantic Canadian region. This is most evident in his varied publications that span fungi, through green plants to forest ecosystems. This deep understanding of New Brunswick forests has led directly to the creation of Protected Natural Areas in New Brunswick, as well as a namesake beetle, Thamiaraea claydenii, recently described from New Brunswick Silver Maple stands. A specialist on lichens, Dr. Clayden’s research has been mainly concerned with the floristics and biogeography of Atlantic Canada. Nonetheless, his output has also included studies of lichens from mountainous habitats as far afield as Snowdonia in North Wales and northeastern Iran.
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Richard Hebda

2015
Dr. Richard Hebda is the 2015 recipient of the Alliance of Natural History Museum’s (ANHMC) Bruce Naylor Award. The award is given annually to recognize achievement by an individual or individuals of national or international significance in the museum-based natural history field in Canada through distinctive leadership, publications or other remarkable endeavours. The award will be presented to Dr. Hebda at the Canadian Museums Association Conference on April 13th in Halifax. Well known in British Columbia, Canada and internationally, Dr. Hebda is Curator of Botany and Earth History at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, British Columbia.
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Joanne DiCosimo

2014
Joanne Fredrickson DiCosimo, former President & CEO of the Canadian Museum of Nature, is the winner of the 2014 Bruce Naylor Award. 
“What distinguishes Joanne DiCosimo as an exceptional museum practitioner is the breadth of her vision for museums”, says Robert R. Janes, Editor-in-Chief, Museum Management and Curatorship. “Her entire career demonstrates an open-minded willingness to share, collaborate and forge solutions to complex challenges. Most importantly, her work is grounded in a well-developed sense of social responsibility.”
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Edward Burtynsky

2013
Edward Burtynsky is the recipient of the 2013 Bruce Naylor Award.  The announcement occurred at the organization’s annual reception on Parliament Hill, which is hosted by the Speaker of the House, the Honourable Andrew Scheer.
The award is given annually to recognize achievement by an individual or individuals of national or international significance in the natural history field in Canada through distinctive leadership, publications or other remarkable endeavours.
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Dr. Graham Young

2012
Dr. Graham Young has been named the winner of the 2012 Bruce Naylor Award. Dr. Young is Curator of Geology and Paleontology at The Manitoba Museum.
The Bruce Naylor Award is named for the former director of the Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology. Dr. Naylor, who passed away in 2007, had also served as president of the ANHMC. The award was presented at a special reception of The Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada (ANHMC) on October 22 in The Speaker’s Reception Room in the Centre Block of Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
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Professor David M. Green

2011
Professor David M. Green of Montreal, noted conservationist and one of Canada’s foremost experts on amphibians, is the distinguished recipient of the 2011 Bruce Naylor Award. This national award recognizes exceptional contributions to the museum-based study of natural history in Canada. Green is currently a professor at McGill University and Director of the Redpath Museum. He has made his mark over a 30-year career as a scientist, museum administrator, teacher and conservation advocate.
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Dr. Wayne Maddison (left), Dr. Mark Graham (centre), Brian Groves (right)

2010
Dr. Wayne Maddison (left), Director of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum in Vancouver, BC, was presented with the 2010 Bruce Naylor Award at the annual conference of the Canadian Museums Association in April 2011. Standing to his right are Dr. Mark Graham (centre), Director of Research at the Canadian Museum of Nature, and Brian Groves (right), Manager, Museums Unit, Yukon.
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Appearing in this photo L-R is Pauline Rafferty, Royal BC Museum, Robert Cannings, and Bill Greenlaw, Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History

2009
In 2009, the Bruce Naylor Award was given to Robert Cannings, Ph.D., an entomologist at the Royal BC Museum. Appearing in this photo L-R is Pauline Rafferty, Royal BC Museum, Robert Cannings, and Bill Greenlaw, Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History.
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Jon Barlow

Photo: Courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum

2008
Dr. Jon C. Barlow, a respected scientist who devoted his career to the study of bird evolution received the distinguished Bruce Naylor Award. Dr. Barlow was most known in museum circles as the Curator of Ornithology at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) – a position he held for 35 years until 2001. He also led the University of Toronto’s Museum Studies Program, inspiring numerous students to pursue careers in natural sciences and museum administration.
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Francis Cook

2007
Dr. Francis Cook, Researcher Emeritus at the Canadian Museum of Nature, was honoured with the inaugural Gold Leaf Award by the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada (ANHMC). This new award recognizes exceptional contributions to the study of museum-based natural history in Canada.
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