In 2017, Dr. Herman’s family, colleagues and friends established the Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship to honor his legacy by promoting the type of research that was the focus of his groundbreaking studies.
The scholarship, administered by the Society for Marine Mammalogy and given every two years, will be for US$5000. The scholarship will support a research project that contributes to our understanding of cetacean cognition and sensory perception (laboratory or field studies), or humpback whale behavioral ecology or communication. Work with other marine mammals that especially enhances our understanding of their cognitive abilities will also be considered.
Eligible candidates include graduate students and those students who have completed their Masters or PhD within the past three years.
In 2018, the inaugural year of the award, two winners were selected.
- Rebecca Hamilton for her project entitled, “Cognition in the wild: Dolphin communication during a role-specialized foraging tactic”
- Solene Derville for her project entitled, “Whales of the deep: Analyzing movement and diving of humpback whales to understand oceanic breeding congregations in New Caledonia”
Applications will open again at the 23rd Biennial Conference in December 2019. Please check back for further details regarding exact dates and application requirements.
We are extremely grateful to all who have donated to help ensure that Dr. Herman’s innovative, creative, and scientifically rigorous approach to the study of the marine mammals he so loved will
continue to live on in the future generations of marine mammal researchers he and his work inspire.
Please click here to donate to the Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship Fund.