Aidee Guzman receives the 2015 Undergraduate Ethnobiologist Award.

Aidee Guzman is a student of Eve Emshwiller at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She will be graduating this May with a Bachelor’s of Science in Botany and Environmental Studies. She has completed two senior thesis research projects, one on the impacts of honeybee hive placement on cranberry pollination and one on the effect of Mexico-US immigration on the transmission of plant knowledge. Our awards committee was impressed by Aidee’s coursework, her extensive research experience, and her leadership skills. She has even prepared and submitted an NSF-GRFP proposal with the support and guidance of Eve Emshwiller and Gary Nabhan for her upcoming graduate school plans upon graduation this May. Her ideas on ways to increase undergraduate student involvement in the Society were achievable and worthy of considering for implementation by the Society. She suggested several things, including faculty and graduate student SOE members mentoring undergraduates at their home institutions, a career panel for undergraduates (and graduates) at the conference, and formal pairing of students with mentors at the conference. We are pleased to have Aidee Guzman selected as the 2015 Undergraduate Ethnobiologist Awardee.