The William E. Bennett Award for Extraordinary Contributions to Citizen Science was established by NCSCE and named in honor of its first recipient for his lifetime contributions to citizen science. The first award was presented to its namesake at a ceremony on Capitol Hill on March 31, 2009. The William E. Bennett Award is given annually to an individual and a team whose SENCER and other related activities have made exemplary and extraordinary contributions to citizen science. The Bennett Awards will be announced during the 2016 SENCER Summer Institute (attendance at the Institute is not a requirement for consideration).
Nomination Procedure
To nominate an individual or a team, please submit a letter that details the person or group’s activities in sufficient detail to enable the selection committee to assess the nominee’s contributions to citizen science. A CV or biosketch is required for the individual nominee, and for each member of a nominated team.
A maximum of two additional letters of support may be submitted with the nomination, however, these letters are not required. Submission of more than two letters will disqualify the nomination.
The required nomination letter and CV(s) or biosketch(es), as well as the optional letters of support should be submitted as one PDF file to sencer@sencer.net. Please indicate ‘Bennett Award Nomination’ in the subject line of the email.
The 2015 Awardees
The 2015 individual and team honorees provide inspirational examples of local and global impacts. Sherryl Broverman’s remarkable achievements in both increasing attention to HIV disease in the Duke curriculum and advancing education of girls in Kenya through the founding of a secondary school emerged directly from her work with the SENCER project, and she has both inspired our community and served as model of rigorous science education through global engagement and service. Drs. Winnie Yu, James Tait, Vince Breslin, Terese Gemme, Terri Bennett, and Susan Cusato of Southern Connecticut State University received the team award. Since 2004, 32 faculty members from Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), encompassing 12 departments and three of its schools, have both incorporated SENCER ideals into existing courses and programs as well as created new ones.