Amy Burgin receives 2025 Leadership Award from the Society for Freshwater Science

Amy Burgin, chair of the Department of Ecology Evolution and Organismal Biology, was recently selected as the recipient of the 2025 Leadership Award from the Society for Freshwater Science.

The SFS Leadership Award recognizes early or mid-career members for extraordinary work on behalf of the Society. It is not awarded every year, and only granted to exceptional nominees. Burgin’s leadership of the Journal Revisioning Task Force, career-long contributions to the success and growth of SFS, and leadership for the Society, on top of her exceptional research, teaching, mentoring, and outreach, was cited as exemplary examples of her contributions to SFS.

Dr. Burgin’s research focuses on how human activities alter biogeochemical cycles and water quality across aquatic ecosystems, including streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Her collaborations all emphasize high-quality undergraduate to postdoctoral training, building effective mentoring practices, and creating inclusive scientific teams. She received the 2015 Holling Family Junior Teacher Award (from UNL), the 2019 Mentor of the Year by the KU Office of Diversity in Science Training (ODST), and the 2022 University Scholarly Achievement Award from KU. She has co-authored over 60 publications and secured >$10M in direct federal research support while training more than 50 undergraduates, 10 graduate students, and 6 post-doctoral scientists. She teaches courses on the Ecology of Lakes and Rivers, Water in the Anthropocene, Scientific Communication, and Team Science.