For her outstanding and countless contributions to the field of ornithology, UBC Faculty of Forestry professor Dr. Kathy Martin was recently awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater, the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI).
The award is considered the university’s highest honour and the criteria for it is based on the university’s motto, “faith, knowledge and service.”
Dr. Martin grew up in Stanhope, Prince Edward Island, and graduated from UPEI with her Bachelor of Science in 1970. She completed her MSc at the University of Alberta in 1973 and defended her PhD on the ecology of Arctic ptarmigan under the supervision of Dr. Fred Cooke at Queen’s University in 1985.
In a recently published interview with CBC’s PEI journalist Kevin Yarr, Dr. Martin mentioned her love of birds has taken her to places as far away as the Arctic and the Rocky Mountains but the origin of that research passion began as a child in her family farm in Stanhope.
“When you grow up on a farm, there’s always birds and mammals around so you get used to living in a place with lots of wildlife,” Dr. Martin is quoted as saying in the article.
About Dr. Kathy Martin
Dr Martin is recognized for her award-winning work in ornithology in the mountain and temperate forest ecosystems in the Americas, for her global perspectives and successful international collaborations, and for her many years of service.
Throughout the past four decades, she has published more than 230 peer-reviewed journal articles, research papers and book chapters on avian ecology, behaviour, life history, and conservation.
She has served as an associate editor for Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, The Auk, The Condor, Avian Conservation and Ecology, and other scientific journals throughout her distinguished and illustrious career. To date, she has trained more than 75 undergraduate students, 35 graduate students, and 20 post-doctoral fellows, most of whom have continued into careers in ornithology.
Among her most recent awards are the William Brewster Memorial Award from the American Ornithological Society and the Jamie Smith Mentoring Award from the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, both of which were presented to her in August 2021. In 2020, she received the Government of Canada’s Nancy B. Cutler Citation of Excellence Women in Science and Technology Award.
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