UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Ben Kline, a wildlife and fisheries science major in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, recently was celebrated for giving an informative and engaging presentation at a professional conference.
In February, Kline, a senior from Middleburg, gave a talk at the annual meeting of the Virginia/West Virginia Chapters of the American Fisheries Society, a professional organization for fisheries scientists across the United States. His lecture on clinch dace, a federally listed fish species of high conservation concern, received the award for “Best Talk” at the conference.
On the heels of that award, Kline won the Cooper Award from the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and the Wildlife Society. The Cooper Award was created to honor the memory of Penn State Professor Emeritus of Zoology Edwin Lavern Cooper, author of "Fishes of Pennsylvania and the Northeastern United States."
Every year, most state chapters hold a meeting, and in Pennsylvania the Cooper Award is presented to an exemplary undergraduate or graduate student involved in research. Travel funds associated with the honor allow the student to attend the meeting and present his or her research.
“The award recognizes students who have contributed beneficial research to our field, but also recognizes journalistic style,” Kline said. “The research honored makes a contribution to fisheries science, but also shows that the student is able to communicate the research to a broader audience.”