Frank Gill, NAS senior vice-president for Science, was awarded the William Brewster Medal from the American Ornithologists' Union at their recent meeting in St. Louis. This is the most coveted award in American ornithology. At the same meeting, Frank was elected president of the American Ornithologists' Union, and John Fitzpatrick, NAS board member and executive director of the Cornell Lab. of Ornithology, was named president-elect. We are all very proud of what both Frank and John are doing for bird conservation. The citation of Frank's accomplishments, at left, was given as support for the Brewster Medal Award.

The Brewster Award for 1998 recognizes Frank B. Gill for his influential and inspiring research on foraging economics and speciation, for an outstanding textbook that has introduced countless others to the beauty and mystery of birds, and for his masterful guidance of the Birds of North America project.