Congratulations to all students who presented their research at the 89^th annual meeting of the Pacific Division. The presentations were of consistantly high quality and a pleasure to listen to or view.

Special congratulations go to those students who won Awards of Excellence. Their names and awards are listed below.

BEST POSTER AWARD—Tie!
Misha Leong (Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA) "Urban Impact on Spider Communities in the San Francisco Presidio."

Pedro Morgado (Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA) "Using Spiders as Bioindicators to Assess Success of Restoration Projects."

J. THOMAS DUTRO, JR. AWARD IN THE GEOSCIENCES
Eric R. Bergey (Department of Geology, Eastern Oregon University, LaGrande, OR) "The Geology and Geomorphology of the Late Miocene Maggie's Vent, a Basanite Fissure Volcano, Mount Fanny Quadrangle, Northeastern Oregon."

GERALDINE K. LINDSAY AWARD IN THE NATURAL SCIENCES
Tony Martinez (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Boise State University, Boise, ID) "Reconstitution of Autoinducer II Effects in E. coli MTN Knockout Strains."

AAAS – ROBERT I. LARUS AWARD
Hillary Young (Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA) "Cocos nucifera Drives Nutrient Depletion via Changes in Seabird Density at Palmyra Atoll."

ANTROPOLOGY & ARCHAEOLOGY and
GENERAL & INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
First Place: Oona Thommes Paredes (Department of Anthroplogy, University of Missouri – Columbia, Columbia, MO) "Colonial Exemplaries: Parsing the Birth of Evil in Philippine Colonial Ethnography."

Second Place: Andres Rodriguez (University of Oxford) "Nation–Building and Anthropology During the Republican Period: David Crocket Graham and the Missionary Anthropological Enterprise in Western Sichuan (1922 – 1945)."

CELL and MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
First Place: Ingrid Cornax Edwards (Department of Animal Sciences, University of California – Davis, Davis, CA) "Inflammation Decreases Lipid Processing by Macrophages During Egg Yolk Peritonitis in the Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)."

Honorable Mention: Benjamin Moresco (Department of Biology, Whitworth University, Spokane, WA) "Nle AIV Increases Hippocampal Matrix Metalloproteinases in Culture: A Possible Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease."

CHEMISTRY and BIOCHEMISTRY
First Place: Tony Martinez (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Boise State University, Boise, ID) "Reconstitution of Autoinducer II Effects in E. coli MTN Knockout Strains."

Second Place: Simona Vaduvescu (Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii – Hilo, Hilo, HI) "Development of a Passive Diffusive Sampling Device for Assessment of Atrazine in Time–Variant Streams of Hawaii."

ECOLOGY, ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE and
WESTERN SOCIETY OF CROP SCIENCE
First Place: Hillary Young (Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA) "Cocos nucifera Drives Nutrient Depletion via Changes in Seabird Density at Palmyra Atoll."

Second Place: Kenneth Hayes (Center for Conservation Research and Training, and Department of Zoology, University of Hawaii – Manoa, Honolulu, HI) "Introduction Pathways, Spread and Impacts of Alien Snails and Slugs in Hawaii."

Third Place (Tie): Misha Leong (Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA) "Urban Impact on Spider Communities in the San Francisco Presidio."

Third Place (Tie): Pedro Morgado (Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA) "Using Spiders as Bioindicators to Assess Success of Restoration Projects."

Honorable Mention: Matthew Madieros (Department of Biology, and the Whitney Harris Ecology Center, University of Missouri – St. Louis, St. Louis, MO) "Adaptation of the Hawaii Akepa to Molt and Breed During a Seasonal Food Decline: The Importance of Offspring Mass."

Honorable Mention: Elizabeth Madin (Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California – Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA) "Behavioral Effects of Fishing on Coral Reefs."

Honorable Mention: Jordge LaFantasie (Department of Plant Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY) "Impacts of Metsulfuron and Chlorsulfuron on Greasewood and Rabbitbrush Communities."

HEALTH SCIENCES
First Place: Reid Hoshide (Department of Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii – Manoa, Honolulu, HI) "Effects of Volcanic Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) Emissions on Pulmonary Function in Adults."

PHYSICS and MATERIALS SCIENCE
First Place: David Chavezticas (Department of Mechanical Engineering, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA) "Structural and Mechanical Characterization of Spider Silk."