Student Award Winners
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Student Presentations submitted to the 2024 Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference are considered for our Student Awards Program*. Awards are given out based on scoring by volunteer judges attending Conference. Students are scored according to creative ability, scientific procedures, thoroughness, competence, and communication. Prizes are awarded for the top two student presentations in the below categories. Mahalo nui loa to The Wildlife Society Hawaiʻi Chapter for supporting our Student Award Program and providing cash prizes to our Student Award Winners!
2024 Student Award Winners
Outstanding Student Oral Presentation
- Name: Erica Gallerani
- PhD Candidate, Geography Department, University of California – Los Angeles
- Presentation Title: #181: Identifying Conservation Introduction Sites for Endangered Birds through the Integration of Lidar-based Habitat Suitability Models and Population Viability Analyses
Honorable Mention Student Oral Presentation
- Name: Emma Stierhoff
- Master’s Degree, Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science (TCBES), University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
- Presentation Title: #203: ʻAmakihi kaulana i ka hoʻōla maʻi: Assessing the long-term impacts of infection with avian malaria in Hawai‘i ‘amakihi
Outstanding Student Speed Talk Presentation
- Name: Tawn Speetjens
- PhD Candidate, Purdue University
- Presentation Title: #282: Nutrient Availability Has a Greater Influence than Pot Host on Seedling Development of Hemiparasitic ‘iliahi (Santalum paniculatum Hook. and Arn.
Honorable Mention Student Speed Talk Presentation
- Name: Annie Larson
- Master’s Degree, Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science (TCBES), University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
- Presentation Title: #66: Pāku‘iku‘i Puzzle: Untangling Environmental and Biological Drivers of Juvenile Distribution of an Imperiled Reef Fish
Outstanding Graduate Student Poster Presentation
- Name: ʻAʻaliʻi Kelling
- Master of Sciences, Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- Presentation Title: #241: Revitalizing Marine Ecosystems with Indigenous Knowledge: The Role of Imu Structures in Enhancing Marine Biodiversity
Honorable Mention Graduate Student Poster Presentation
- Name: Jordan Gossett
- PhD Candidate, Zoology Program, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- Presentation Title: #299: Conserving Cryptic Biodiversity in Native Cave-Adapted Hawaiian Planthoppers
Outstanding Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation
- Name: Joel Nicolow
- Undergraduate Student, Computer Science, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- Presentation Title: #129: A Machine Learning Method for Detecting Fog in Mountain Trail Camera Images
Honorable Mention Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation
- Name: Helene Watson
- Undergraduate Student, Kapiʻolani Community College
- Presentation Title: #249: Evaluating the impact of aina based education through Educator’s viewpoint
