Darwin Medal

Description:  The Society’s premier honor, awarded once every 4 years to an eminent late-career scientist. It is awarded to a senior ICRS member who is recognized worldwide for major scientific contributions throughout their career.

Level of experience needed: More than 25 years post PhD

ICRS Membership requirement: Yes

ICRS Service requirement: None

Frequency of award: Offered only in symposium years

Number of awards: One every four years, coinciding with Symposium years

Recognition:  The Darwin medalist presents the Darwin Lecture, a plenary address reviewing their field, at the ICRS Symposium. An account of their address is published in either the Society’s flagship journal Coral Reefs, or the Society’s news journal Reef Encounter. The Darwin medalist is also elevated to ICRS Fellow status.

Due date for applications: 15th December prior to the symposium year. The next nomination due date is 15 December 2025.

Previous Darwin Medalists are listed below.

Nomination details:  

  1. Any candidate for the Darwin Medal must be a current paid-up member of the Society. Enquiries regarding membership can be made to membership services who hold an up-to-date list of current members.
  2. Nominations must be submitted by a proposer and supported by a seconder, both of whom must also be current paid-up members of the Society. Again, enquiries regarding membership can be made to membership services.
  3. Both proposer and seconder should submit, as part of the nomination, Signed Statements confirming their support for the nomination; these statement may be sent (as scanned documents) by email and there is no need for proposer and seconder to sign the same document.
  4. Before submitting their nomination, proposer and seconder must approach their intended candidate in order to ensure that the candidate is prepared to stand. To indicate their willingness to stand, any nominee must also submit (directly or via their proposer) a Signed Statement to the effect that they are willing to be considered for the award; this may be submitted by email as a separate document from those signed by the proposer and seconder.
  5. A candidate may not support or approve more than one nomination in support of their candidacy. Any additional nomination or other material received in support of a candidate after a first nomination has been received will not be considered as part of the nomination packet.
  6. A nomination should consist of a Case in Support of the candidate of not more than 3 (three) A4 size or US Letter format in length, compiled by the proposer and seconder, and arguing the case for their nominee. This document should be composed with a font size of 11 or 12, using single spacing and with a margin to the sides and top and bottom of at least 2 cm or 1″ margins on all sides.
  7. Each nomination should be supported by a separate Curriculum Vitae of the candidate of not more than 6 (six) A4 size or US Letter format in length. The Curriculum Vitae should include details of the posts held by the candidate and a list of their publications, but not include any text arguing the case for the candidate.
  8. Where a Case in Support or Curriculum Vitae exceeds the above length limit of 3 or 6 pages respectively, the balance of the document will be deleted and only the first 3 or 6 pages passed on to Council members for them to consider. Where a nomination document or curriculum vitae exceeds the above length limit of 3 or 6 pages by more than one page, the whole nomination will not be considered as part of the nomination packet.
  9. It is recommended that before preparing their nomination document a proposer and seconder should liaise closely with their preferred candidate in order to determine what their candidate believes to have been their principal scientific and related achievements and to ensure the accuracy of their statements.
  10. Nominations are distributed to each elected Council member and discussed at a dedicated Council meeting. Elected Council members vote to approve the winning candidate.

 

 

Previous Recipients:

 

Year Darwin Medalist Symposium
2020 Nancy Knowlton 15th International Coral Reef Symposium, Bremen
Professor Nancy Knowlton graduated from Harvard University, and from the University of California, Berkeley, with a PhD. Dr. Knowlton was a professor at Yale University, then joined the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, and later became adjunct professor of marine biology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. While at Scripps, Dr. Knowlton founded the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, and is the author of the book Citizens of the Sea (2010). Dr. Knowlton was named an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow in 1999, was elected to the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2008, is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, and.. received the 17th Annual Heinz Award with special focus on the environment. Dr. Knowlton is currently Sant Chair of Marine Science Emerita, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, USA.
2016 John “Jack” Randall 13th International Coral Reef Symposium, Honolulu
Jack Randall has named more fish species than anyone in the world. He described over 800 species and authored 11 books and over 900 scientific papers and popular articles. Dr. Randall received a BA degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1950 and a Ph.D in ichthyology from the University of Hawaii in 1955.  After two years as a research associate at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Jack worked briefly at the University of Miami’s Marine Laboratory and then as Professor of Zoology and director of the Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Puerto Rico, before moving back to Hawaii. There, Jack served as director of the Pacific Foundation of Marine Research’s Oceanic Institute at Makapuu Point, and then as an ichthyologist at the Bishop Museum. In 1975, Randall became chairman of the museum’s zoology department and also served as a marine biologist at the Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii. Jack was awarded the first Bleeker Award in Systematic Ichthyology at the Seventh Indo-Pacific Fish Conference in Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Randall passed away in April 2020.
2012 Jeremy Jackson 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns
Professor Jeremy Jackson is a world leader in the science of conservation of coral reefs and coastal marine ecosystems. Jeremy’s latest research has focussed on the investigation of human historical impacts on marine ecosystems. As one example, Dr. Jackson’s paper entitled “Historical Overfishing and the Recent Collapse of Coastal Ecosystems” has been cited more than 2000 times in the scientific literature, and has been the subject of hundreds of media accounts in major print media, radio, and television. Professor Jackson is the author of more than 150 publications and seven books. Dr. Jackson has also pioneered long term observations and experiments to assess the comparative importance of larval recruitment, competition for space and food, predation, and environmental perturbations as determinants of reef community development and succession.
2008 Terence “Terry”  Hughes 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Fort Lauderdale
Professor Terry Hughes is one of today’s most prominent coral reef scientists. Terry’s impressive publication record (many of which have have become classics in the field), an outstanding ability to obtain impressive national and international competitive research funding and direct large-scale research programs, collaboration with colleagues both nationally and overseas, the many pioneering innovative approaches to assessing coral reef resilience and scientifically underpinning the management of coral reefs, an admirable teaching career, which included training and supervising a large number of post-doctoral students, the tireless extracurricular activities to increase public and government awareness world-wide of the global problem of the acute degradation of coral reefs and the urgent need to conserve their biodiversity, all point to Dr. Hughes’ remarkable international scientific leadership in the field of coral reefs. As Advisory, Topic and Managing Editor of Coral Reefs for ten years, Professor Hughes also contributed hugely to the success of the journal, and for this was presented an Exceptional Service Award in 2000 by ICRS.
2004  J. E. N. “Charlie” Veron  10th International Coral Reef Symposium, Okinawa
Dr. J. E. N. (Charlie) Veron’s contributions to coral reef studies have been considerable. For decades, shelves from the world’s mightiest universities and museums to the smallest out of the way field stations have bowed under the weight of Charlie’s works. The weightiest of these is the three volume book Corals of the World (2000), a production that is not only an invaluable scientific treatise and a practical identification guide, but also a work of art, and a compelling conservation statement delivered at a time of dire need for coral reefs under pressure worldwide. The companion CD-ROM Coral ID (2001) puts species level coral identification in the hands of the field researcher, removing one of the most daunting barriers to ecological studies. Charlie Veron has been working on reef corals for 35 years, and has studied taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, palaeontology, ecology and evolutionary theory of corals. Dr. Veron’s most significant achievements include discovery of 21% of all coral species, publications of descriptions, maps and photographs of all coral species in the world, and linking taxonomy and molecular science through evolutionary theory. Much of Dr. Veron’s unflagging hard work is motivated by a deep concern over human-induced deterioration of reefs, and much of Charlie’s working life – especially in recent years – has been deeply involved in planning activities of international, government, and non-government conservation organizations.
2000  Joseph “Yossi” Loya 9th International Coral Reef Symposium, Bali
Professor Yossi Loya has made many fundamental contributions to reef science. This include work on the community structure and species diversity of Red Sea reefs, which formed the foundation for many modern reef studies, and Dr. Loya’s line-transect methodology that has been used worldwide. Professor Loya also pioneered investigations of reef-community dynamics through the exhaustive study of life-history strategies of important reef-building species, highlighting the contrasting reproductive strategies of Red Sea corals with those from the Great Barrier Reef. Professor Loya’s studies on the effects of chronic oil pollution demonstrated the potentially damaging influence of oil for the first time, while sclerochronology of contemporary and fossil Red Sea corals elegantly identified the previous climatology of the Sinai Desert. More recently Professor Loya’s research group has made important contributions to bioerosion studies of coral reefs, to intra-colonial transport of carbon and its regulation as well as to interactions between elevated sea temperature and bacterial disease in the Mediterranean coral Oculina patogonica.
1996  Ian G. MacIntyre 8th International Coral Reef Symposium, Panama
Dr. Ian G. MacIntyre’s scientific contributions are diverse and have resulted in new and important understanding in the areas of submarine cementation, sea level history, bioerosion, diagenesis of reef carbonates, sclerochronology, coral growth in relation to water motion and irradiance fields, skeletal diagenesis in calcareous algae, and the formation of stromatolites, mangrove peat deposits, and algal ridges. Dr. MacIntyre earned a Ph.D. in geology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada in 1967. Ian’s doctoral research focused on the growth history of submerged coral reefs of the west coast of Barbados, West Indies. Ian continued this line of research as a member of the research staff at the Duke University Marine Laboratory until 1970, and then served as a research scientists in the Department of Paleobiology at the Smithsonian Institution for 40 years. Dr. MacIntyre was one of the first to recognize the key role of submarine lithification in coral reefs, and pioneered the use of hydraulic drilling to reveal the internal structure of coral reefs. Dr. MacIntyre was also president of ICRS (1983-1986), Geological Editor of Coral Reefs, and editor of Atoll Research Bulletin. Dr. MacIntyre passed away in May 2020.
1992  Peter W. Glynn  7th International Coral Reef Symposium, Guam
Dr. Peter W. Glynn has had a distinguished scientific career, making many significant contributions to the ecology of coral reefs. Dr. Glynn’s began his work in Puerto Rico to develop a budget of plankton uptake (consumption) by coral reef communities at La Parguera. Later achievements included the discovery of well-developed coral reefs in the eastern Pacific and their subsequent ecological study; establishing the ecological significance of crustacean symbionts which defend pocilloporid corals from Acanthaster attack, and being the first scientist to relate coral bleaching and mortality with elevated sea temperatures. Peter’s publications in the latter field have been extensive and include numerous reviews, papers documenting empirical findings and a book entitled “Global Ecological Consequences of the 1982-83 El-Nino Southern Oscillation,” published by Elsevier. Dr. Glynn is probably the only reef scientist to have received the “Best Paper Award” for papers published in Coral Reefs on two occasions.
1988 David Stoddart  6th International Coral Reef Symposium, Townsville
Dr. David Stoddart was the first person to be awarded the Darwin medal. Dr. Stoddart was the key energizer of the international coral reef symposia, a founding member and initiator of the ICRS, its first President, and subsequently coordinating editor of Coral Reefs. Dr. Stoddart made significant contributions in all the major reef provinces of the world, describing reef environments both in the context of twentieth century developments in geological and ecological thought and through re-evaluation of historical descriptions of reefs. Dr. Stoddart’s work is characterized by careful field observations and by an ability to consider the interplay of the different time and spatial scales of controlling processes, including an appreciation of environmental variability and the role of extreme events. The work includes major contributions to the understanding of sea level dynamics on Pleistocene, Holocene, and historical time scales; to ocean basin biogeography; to coral island floristics and ecology; and to the history of coral reef science. Dr. Stoddart also made notable contributions to coral conservation, most particularly in the saving of Aldabra Atoll for science, which was awarded the OBE from HM Queen Elizabeth II in 1979. Dr. Stoddart passed away in November, 2014.