Diana Wall (1943–2024) was a champion for biodiversity. Her decades of work as a soil ecologist in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica proved that life can thrive in the harshest of environments. In those seemingly barren polar deserts, Wall discovered that microscopic nematodes are the top predators in the soil and key drivers of the carbon cycle. Wall was the founder of the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative, and she served as university distinguished professor, director of the School of Global Environmental Sustainability, and professor in the Department of Biology, at Colorado State University. In 1993, she served as president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). Diana’s bequest to AIBS will benefit early-career scientists, continuing her legacy of collaboration, inspiration, and service to biological sciences research endeavors that connect communities and foster collaboration for the benefit of science and society.
Objective: To honor Diana Wall’s contribution to AIBS, science, and society. To recognize and incentivize outstanding scientific communication and research by early-career scientists who have published in BioScience.
Overview
The AIBS Diana Wall Graduate Student Publication Award is a prestigious annual award granted to a graduate student (master’s or PhD candidate) who has served as the lead author of a peer-reviewed article published in BioScience during the preceding calendar year.
The award will recognize the student’s ability to synthesize complex biological concepts for a broad scientific audience.
Eligibility & Criteria
- Lead Author Status: The applicant must be the lead (typically first listed) author of the article.
- Academic Standing: The applicant must have been a registered graduate student at the time of the article’s initial submission.
- Article Scope: Eligible submissions include peer-reviewed articles that contribute significantly to the biological sciences or the intersection of science and policy.
Selection Process
The selection is a two-stage process coordinated by the journal’s leadership:
- Editorial Shortlist: The AIBS Publications Committee identifies the top graduate-led papers based on their potential impact, scientific rigor, and clarity of prose.
- Selection Committee: A committee comprising a cohort of the AIBS Publications Committee evaluates the shortlist to select the winner.
The Award Package
Each recipient (up to 4 annually) of the award receives:
- The Impact Stipend: A one-time cash award of $2,500 to support the student’s continuing research and/or travel.
- Featured Profile: A dedicated “Author Spotlight” in a subsequent issue of BioScience and on AIBS digital platforms.
- Open Access Credit: A voucher for the student’s next BioScience submission to be published as Open Access at no cost to the author.
Benefits to the Scientific Community
- For the Journal: Increases the volume of high-quality submissions from the next generation of researchers.
- For the Student: Provides a “gold-standard” credential that differentiates them in a competitive academic and professional job market.
- For the Institute: Reaffirms the role of AIBS in mentoring and championing educational endeavors during challenging times for research funding.