The Gerrit S. Miller Award is presented occasionally at the annual North American Symposium on Bat Research to persons "in recognition of outstanding service and contribution to the field of chiropteran biology." The award is named after Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., an outstanding early 20th Century bat biologist at the Smithsonian Institution. Miller's work on the evolutionary relationships of chiropteran families and genera to one another still strongly influences taxonomic thinking about bats today.
The Gerrit S. Miller Jr. Award winner is chosen by the Miller Committee which consists of all the surviving Miller award recipients. The Miller Committee chooses one of its members to act as the Secretary of the Committee, currently G. Roy Horst. Each year, generally during the summer before the annual NASBR meeting, the Secretary of the Miller Committee contacts each member and solicits nominations. Each member of the committee is encouraged to submit to the Secretary, who then compiles them on a ballot. Any member of NASBR may nominate a worthy candidate by working with one of the members of the Miller Committee who will then communicate the nomination to the secretary. The committee members vote for their choice and return the ballot to the Secretary, who tabulates the results and sends them to all committee members. In the event that there are two candidates receiving the same number of votes the committee members are asked to reconsider their vote and resubmit the results to the Secretary. If this does not lead to a clear winner, the secretary will consult via telephone and discuss whether there can be a resolution. The committee members are then given the opportunity to name the winner as our unanimous choice. The Miller Committee is not committed to making an award every year. In the thirty-three years of the award's existence, only twenty awards have been made. If a nominee does not meet the enthusiastic approval of the majority of the committee, no award need be given. It has been our practice to hold this information in confidence (when possible) until the award is presented at the meeting. The presentation of the award is made at our annual awards ceremony and presented by Thomas Kunz. The new Gerrit S. Miller, Jr. Fellow then becomes a member of the Miller Committee.
Gareth Jones
University of Bristol
Awarded in 2011 in Toronto, Ontario (NASBR 41)
Wieslaw Bogdanowicz
Museum & Institute of Zoology PAS, Poland
Awarded in 2010 in Denver CO (NASBR 40)
Robert J. Baker
Texas Tech University
Awarded in 2009 in Portland OR (NASBR 39)
Nancy B. Simmons
American Museum of Natural History
Awarded in 2008 at the University of Scranton, Scranton, PA (NASBR 38)
R. Mark Brigham
University of Regina
Awarded in 2006 in Wilmington, NC (NASBR 36)
Rodrigo Medellin
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México
Awarded in 2004 in Salt Lake City, UT (NASBR 34)
Robert M. R. Barclay
University of Calgary
Awarded in 2002 at the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT (NASBR 32)
Patricia W. Freeman
University of Nebraska
Awarded in 2001 in Victoria, British Columbia (NASBR 31)
Theodore H. Fleming
University of Miami
Awarded in 1999 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (NASBR 29)
Gary F. McCracken
University of Tennessee
Awarded in 1997 at the University of Arizona / Pima Community College / Arizona Game & Fish, Tucson, AZ (NASBR 27)
Paul A. Racey
University of Aberdeen
Awarded in 1995 at Boston University, Boston, MA (NASBR 25)
Don E. Wilson
National Museum of Natural History
Awarded in 1992 at Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec (NASBR 22)
Bernardo Villa-Ramirez
Universidad Nacional Automoma de Mexico
Awarded in 1990 at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (NASBR 20)
Merlin D. Tuttle
Bat Conservation International
Awarded in 1986 at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA (NASBR 16)
Harold B. Hitchcock
Middlebury College
Awarded in 1986 at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA (NASBR 16)
Thomas H. Kunz
Boston University
Awarded in 1984 at the University of Rockford, Rockford, IL (NASBR 15)
M. Brock Fenton
Carleton University
Awarded in 1982 at the University of Louisville, Louisville, KY (NASBR 13)
William A. Wimsatt
Cornell University
Awarded in 1981 at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (NASBR 12)
Donald R. Griffin
Rockefeller University
Awarded in 1979 at Washington University, St Louis, MO (NASBR 10)
Karl F. Koopman
American Museum of Natural History
Awarded in 1977 at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario (NASBR 8)
G. Roy Horst
State University of New York, Potsdam
Awarded in 1977 at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario (NASBR 8)
