The People’s Choice Award is given to the individual, group or organization that IMATA conference attendees feel has made the greatest contribution to the conference. Votes are cast on the last day of the conference when IMATA attendees fill out individually issued People’s Choice Award ballots.
The Editor’s Choice Award, sponsored by Doug and Cheryl Messinger of Messinger Consulting Services, is designed to encourage and recognize excellence in writing skills and will be presented to the abstract that requires the least amount of editing and most effectively and accurately reflects the formatting guidelines for IMATA Proceedings. All abstracts submitted for the 2019 annual conference are automatically eligible for this award.
The Outernet Technology Award, sponsored by Outernet Technologies International, is given to the author of a formal paper or poster presentation which demonstrates an outstanding use of technology. All formal and poster presentations are automatically eligible for this award.
Honors an individual who has demonstrated a dedication to the field of marine mammal science, training, and service to IMATA.Past recipients include:
The John Kirtland Award of Dedication is given to acknowledge persons or organizations (member or non-members) that have made major contributions to IMATA.Past recipients include:
The Poster Presentation winners are selected by judges who consider the information presented, the presenter’s ability to discuss the content with attendees, and visual layout and design.
Getting up in front of an audience and giving a formal presentation can be a very intimidating thing to do, especially to a crowd of your peers. The first time presenter award is given to the speaker that judges believe did the best job delivering their first formal presentation at an IMATA conference. The award hopes to encourage and inspire all members to communicate formally with their IMATA peers.
Education and Conservation are key elements in the IMATA mission statement and are vital to the survival of all marine animals. These awards are given to the presentations that best represented achievements in education and/or conservation.
Research is a critical part of the work done by IMATA members in facilities all over the world. Properly conducted research projects can be laborious and time consuming, but results can and have made a difference in the lives of marine animals in our care or their wild counterparts or cousins. These awards are given to the presentations that best represent research advancements in our field.
Providing care for our animals is paramount, and animal training is a key factor that contributes to animal husbandry. Samples collected and procedures performed using trained behavior allows for a positive experience for the animals while providing us with information and insight that helps maintain animal health. These awards are given to the presentations that best demonstrate effective husbandry training.
Training animal behavior allows us to demonstrate adaptations and capabilities to visitors and provides an opportunity to mentally engage animals as well. This award category was IMATA’s original, and is still among the most cherished. Training behavior is the soul of IMATA and these awards are given to the presentations that best demonstrate exceptional animal training.