AWARDS
The Billings Medal
At its inception, the Paleontology Division recognized the need to acknowledge outstanding contributions to Canadian paleontology and responded by creating the Billings Medal. A committee of three Division members is appointed by the Division executive every two years to solicit and consider nominations for this award. A nominee's significant contribution may take the form of a single paper or monograph; a series of related papers or monographs; or a long term contribution to the paleontology of a specific taxonomic group, a specific time interval, a specific geographic area, or a specific discipline.
The Billings Medal is named in honour of Elkanah Billings (1820-1876), who is regarded as the father of paleontology in Canada. In 1856, Billings became the first paleontologist to be hired by the Geological Survey of Canada. Although echinoderms were his specialty, he studied and wrote on all invertebrate groups. Over the course of his lifetime, he erected sixty-one new genera and 1065 new species. His bibliography comprises over 200 titles. A summary of Billings' work is found in a paper by T.H. Clark (1971): Elkanah Billings (1820-1876) - Canada's first paleontologist. Geological Association of Canada, Proceedings, v. 23, pp. 11-14).
To view a list of names of past recipients, click here.
The 2019 GAC Billings Medal recipient was Jisuo Jin (University of Western Ontario).
The 2017 GAC Billings Medal recipient was George Pemberton (University of Alberta).
The 2015 GAC Billings Medal recipient was Paul Smith (University of British Columbia).
The 2013 GAC Billings Medal recipient was Godfrey Nowlan (Geological Survey of Canada).
Details on how to nominate an individual for the 2021 Billings Medal are described here.
The Billings Medal is named in honour of Elkanah Billings (1820-1876), who is regarded as the father of paleontology in Canada. In 1856, Billings became the first paleontologist to be hired by the Geological Survey of Canada. Although echinoderms were his specialty, he studied and wrote on all invertebrate groups. Over the course of his lifetime, he erected sixty-one new genera and 1065 new species. His bibliography comprises over 200 titles. A summary of Billings' work is found in a paper by T.H. Clark (1971): Elkanah Billings (1820-1876) - Canada's first paleontologist. Geological Association of Canada, Proceedings, v. 23, pp. 11-14).
To view a list of names of past recipients, click here.
The 2019 GAC Billings Medal recipient was Jisuo Jin (University of Western Ontario).
The 2017 GAC Billings Medal recipient was George Pemberton (University of Alberta).
The 2015 GAC Billings Medal recipient was Paul Smith (University of British Columbia).
The 2013 GAC Billings Medal recipient was Godfrey Nowlan (Geological Survey of Canada).
Details on how to nominate an individual for the 2021 Billings Medal are described here.
The Pikaia Award
In 2002, the Paleontology Division introduced a new award, the Pikaia Award. The Pikaia Award is awarded in recognition of a recent contribution to research on any aspect of Canadian paleontology, or by a Canadian to paleontology, that is judged to constitute an outstanding accomplishment in the field. The outstanding accomplishment may be a single paper or monograph or a series of closely related papers. The award will normally go to an individual who is no more than 15 years past their last degree.
The Pikaia award is named after Pikaia, an early cephalochordate known from the Burgess Shale. It is awarded biennially in even-numbered years.
Recipients of the Pikaia Award are:
2020 Matthew Clapham
2018 Ryan McKellar
2016 Marc Laflamme
2012 Howard Falcon-Lang
2010 Jean-Bernard Caron
2008 Michael W. Caldwell
2006 Nick Butterfield
2004 Jonathan Adrain
2003 Jisuo Jin
Details on how to nominate an individual for the 2022 Pikaia Award will be circulated later in 2021.
The Pikaia award is named after Pikaia, an early cephalochordate known from the Burgess Shale. It is awarded biennially in even-numbered years.
Recipients of the Pikaia Award are:
2020 Matthew Clapham
2018 Ryan McKellar
2016 Marc Laflamme
2012 Howard Falcon-Lang
2010 Jean-Bernard Caron
2008 Michael W. Caldwell
2006 Nick Butterfield
2004 Jonathan Adrain
2003 Jisuo Jin
Details on how to nominate an individual for the 2022 Pikaia Award will be circulated later in 2021.
The Bolton Award
The Paleontology Division of the Geological Association of Canada gives an award to acknowledge excellence in paleontological research by a student through their paper presentation at the Canadian Paleontology Conference. The first of the Thomas E. Bolton Awards was presented at the Eighth Canadian Paleontology Conference in Collingwood, Ontario.
Beginning in 1998, the award has been named in honor of Tom Bolton. Just a few weeks after being awarded the Billings Medal, Thomas Elwood Bolton passed away on November 21st, 1997. The medal, named after the Geological Survey of Canada’s first paleontologist, was a fitting tribute to a man who had dedicated his life to the furtherance of geology and paleontology. The citation for the medal included the statement that “No individual has done more for Canadian paleontology than Tom Bolton”.
Tom’s lifelong career with the GSC began in 1952. His research covered a remarkable diversity of Ordovician and Silurian organisms including trilobites, eurypterids, corals, brachiopods, crinoids, cystoids, bryozoans, sponges, nautiloids, gastropods and pelecypods. Not only was Tom an acknowledged authority in his field, he was Curator of the National Collection of Type Invertebrate and Plant Fossils for over 30 years. He left a legacy of eight volumes of the Catalogue of Type Fossil Invertebrates and one Catalogue of Type Plant Fossils. These provide data on over 130,000 specimens collected from the days of Sir William Logan in the last century to 1993.
The hallmarks of Tom’s work were cheerful involvement, modesty, effectiveness, and a willingness to involve others. His enthusiasm for paleontology was contagious, and he delighted in talking to those who shared his passion whether they were “professional” paleontologists or not. If you liked fossils, Tom would share his knowledge with you. It is appropriate that the award for paleontological research by a student is named in his honour.
A summary of Tom Bolton’s life and work was written by G.S. Nowlan and C.H. Smith and can downloaded via the Geological Society of America's website here.
To view a list of names of past recipients, click here.
The 2019 GAC Bolton Award recipient was Joseph Moysiuk (Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto).
The 2018 GAC Bolton Award recipient was Brittany Laing (Dept. of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan).
The 2017 GAC Bolton Award recipient was Brittany Cheung (Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto).
The 2016 GAC Bolton Award recipient was Greer Strothers (Sheridan College).
Beginning in 1998, the award has been named in honor of Tom Bolton. Just a few weeks after being awarded the Billings Medal, Thomas Elwood Bolton passed away on November 21st, 1997. The medal, named after the Geological Survey of Canada’s first paleontologist, was a fitting tribute to a man who had dedicated his life to the furtherance of geology and paleontology. The citation for the medal included the statement that “No individual has done more for Canadian paleontology than Tom Bolton”.
Tom’s lifelong career with the GSC began in 1952. His research covered a remarkable diversity of Ordovician and Silurian organisms including trilobites, eurypterids, corals, brachiopods, crinoids, cystoids, bryozoans, sponges, nautiloids, gastropods and pelecypods. Not only was Tom an acknowledged authority in his field, he was Curator of the National Collection of Type Invertebrate and Plant Fossils for over 30 years. He left a legacy of eight volumes of the Catalogue of Type Fossil Invertebrates and one Catalogue of Type Plant Fossils. These provide data on over 130,000 specimens collected from the days of Sir William Logan in the last century to 1993.
The hallmarks of Tom’s work were cheerful involvement, modesty, effectiveness, and a willingness to involve others. His enthusiasm for paleontology was contagious, and he delighted in talking to those who shared his passion whether they were “professional” paleontologists or not. If you liked fossils, Tom would share his knowledge with you. It is appropriate that the award for paleontological research by a student is named in his honour.
A summary of Tom Bolton’s life and work was written by G.S. Nowlan and C.H. Smith and can downloaded via the Geological Society of America's website here.
To view a list of names of past recipients, click here.
The 2019 GAC Bolton Award recipient was Joseph Moysiuk (Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto).
The 2018 GAC Bolton Award recipient was Brittany Laing (Dept. of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan).
The 2017 GAC Bolton Award recipient was Brittany Cheung (Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto).
The 2016 GAC Bolton Award recipient was Greer Strothers (Sheridan College).