|
|
C.P. Alexander Award
|
C.P. Alexander, 1971
Picture by D. Hall |
The C.P.
Alexander Award was established by the North American Dipterists Society
(NADS) during a special meeting at the 3rd International
Congress of Dipterology in Guelph, Canada, in 1994. The purpose of
the Award is to recognize the contributions to North American dipterology
by the greatest living North American dipterist. It is a lifetime award
and can only be held by a single dipterist at a time. The C.P. Alexander
Award publicly acknowledges the most important and influential member
of NADS. There have been two recipients of the C.P. Alexander Award. |
William
(“Bill”) W. Wirth
The
first recipient of the C.P. Alexander Award was Bill Wirth, who
was awarded the honor in 1994 during the 3rd International Congress
of Dipterology in Guelph.
|
W.W.
Wirth, ca. 1989
Picture by S. Murphree |
The
Award reads, “The North American Dipterists
Society recognizes Willis W. Wirth as our most
productive dipterist and for his critical and unique contributions
in expanding our knowledge of flies, especially biting midges and
shore flies, educating and encouraging a cadre of world leaders
for Systematic Dipterology.”
Due
to ill health, Bill was unable to attend the Guelph Congress to
receive his Award. He was presented with the Award in Florida shortly
after the Congress, on 27 August 1994, by a group of Gainesville
dipterists. Sadly, Bill died about a week later, on 4 September
1994, in Gainesville. Information about the awarding of the C.P
Alexander Award to Bill Wirth was published in Fly Times
14: 4-5 (1995). Obituaries of Bill were published
in American Entomologist 41(1): 63-64
(1995) and Florida
Entomologist 78(1): 192-193 (1995). In
1996, issue 18 of Memoirs of the Entomological
Society of Washington was dedicated to Bill Wirth and contained
several introductory articles about his life and entomological contributions.
A list of Wirth’s
publications is available on the Internet. |
J.
Richard (“Dick”) Vockeroth
The second recipient of the C.P. Alexander Award
was Dick Vockeroth, who held the award until he passed away on 16 November 2012. Dick
was presented with the Award in May 1997 during a field meeting
of the North American Dipterists Society.
|
J.R. Vockeroth, 1989
Picture by J.E. O'Hara |
The
Award reads, “John Richard Vockeroth
is recognized as our most knowledgable dipterist, and for his critical
and unique contributions in expanding our knowledge of flies, especially
flower flies, educating and encouraging a cadre of world leaders
for Systematic Dipterology.”
A brief
biography of Dick’s professional career as a dipterist was
published in Fly Times
19: 4-5 (1997). |
Stephen A.
Marshall
The third recipient of the C.P. Alexander Award is Steve Marshall, as announced on 2 March 2018. He was selected by the C.P. Alexander Award Committee through a process explained in Fly Times 59 (2017). A formal presentation of the award to Steve will be announced when details are available.
|
S.A Marshall
|
In choosing Steve, the committee recognized his accomplishments and broad influence, including his training of students, his books, photography, revisions, knowledge of Diptera, hosting of ICD3, co-organizer of first NADS field meeting, creation of Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification, and other achievements.
A brief
biography of Steve's professional career as a dipterist will be published in the next issue of Fly Times (April 2018). |
First published on the NADS site on 20 June 2003
Last update: 6 March 2018
J.E. O'Hara
|