The Rohlf Medal

The Rohlf Medal was established in 2006 by his family and friends to mark the 70th birthday of F. James Rohlf, Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolution and longtime Stony Brook University faculty member. Recipients of the Rohlf Medal will be recognized for excellence in their body of work on the development of new multivariate morphometric methods or for their applications in the biomedical sciences, including evolutionary biology, population biology, physical anthropology, and medicine. The term “morphometrics” is intended to include multivariate statistical analysis of biological shape and its covariation with other variables, especially those that analyze shape in a comprehensive way. The award can recognize advancements in the mathematical or statistical theory underlying morphometric methods, new software that implements or visualizes new or existing methods, or specific new biological findings that rely crucially on contemporary morphometric methods. The expectation is that an award will be made every two years and that the winner will present a lecture at Stony Brook University on or about October 24th.

The first presentation of the Rohlf Medal was made to Fred L. Bookstein. on Monday, October 24, 2011 at Stony Brook University. The title of his lecture was “Biology and Mathematical Imagination: the Meaning of Morphometrics”. The presentaion of the first Rohlf Medal was made at the lecture. There is also a cash prize.

A link to the video of the lecture is available here.

The lecture was followed by a dinner.