Salutes

Advertiser Staff

Photography awards

The world's foremost environmental photographers, supporters and policy-makers gathered in Washington recently to celebrate the work of leading professional and amateur photographers at the fourth annual International Photography Awards ceremony, presented by Nature's Best magazine and CEMEX.

The purpose of the awards, which were presented at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, is to increase awareness of the importance of environmental conservation by recognizing those who immortalize nature through photography.

The amateur winner in the Marine Life category was Masa Ushioda of Kailua, Kona, Hawai'i, who photographed a large group of long-snouted spinner dolphins swimming toward the surface. Ushioda's photograph will be displayed with the other winners' works in the museum's Baird Ambulatory through Dec. 31.

Ushioda has been photographing large marine animals such as whales, dolphins and sharks since 1997. His art and photographs have been featured in national magazines, calendars, books and advertisements, as well as in museums and aquariums worldwide.

Nature's Best magazine is dedicated to celebrating nature's beauty through photography and thus promoting the cause of conservation.

Marine science award

David Karl, professor of oceanography at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, has been named the winner of the prestigious 2001 A.G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in Marine Science.

"Dave Karl is without a doubt one of the foremost marine microbiologists in the world," said Edward Laws, interim vice chancellor for research and graduate education at UH-Manoa.

Karl has published more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, including one regarding the discovery of a previously unknown type of bacteria found in seawater samples collected at the Hawai'i Ocean Time-series Station ALOHA about 60 miles north of O'ahu. Details of the discovery and the bacteria appeared recently in the journal Nature.

Besides conducting numerous research projects, Karl has supported oceanography students through the many grants he has received from the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other organizations and agencies. Since 1991, he has brought in $750,000 to

$1 million per year in extramural grants and other financial awards to the university.

He has been at UH since 1978.