Dr. Hillary Egna is presented with  the WAS Honorary Life Award by WAS President Dr. Kevan Main during the WAS meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.

Dr. Hillary Egna, director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on AquaFish, was recognized for her contributions to the field of aquaculture with The World Aquaculture Society’s (WAS) Honorary Life Award during the society’s triennial meeting in Nashville, Tennessee on February 22, 2013. The WAS award recognizes living individuals who have “made a longstanding and significant contribution” to the field of aquaculture. Nominations, made by members of the WAS, are reviewed by the WAS Board and ratified by a two thirds vote. Dr. Egna is the first woman to receive the award since its inception in 1969. With more than 3,000 members from nearly 100 countries, the WAS promotes the sustainable development of aquaculture around the world through science, technology, and information exchange.

Among her many accomplishments in the field of aquaculture, Dr. Egna became Program Director of the Pond Dynamics and Aquaculture (PD/A) CRSP at Oregon State University in 1989, and has continued in that position with the Aquaculture CRSP (ACRSP) and AquaFish Collaborative Research Innovation Lab (formerly CRSP). She has led the program and its US and international partners including universities, research organizations, NGOs, and other groups to develop sustainable solutions in aquaculture and fisheries that conserve natural environments and improve food security and health around the world through multidisciplinary research, outreach, and training.

Congratulating Dr. Egna on her award, former USAID AOR for AquaFish Dr. Harry Rea said, “The AquaFish CRSP and its predecessors owe much of their success to Hillary’s untiring technical and administrative leadership.  Perhaps her greatest contribution has been her leadership in forming strong partnerships with host-country partners that have led to those partners being true partners and leaders in the CRSP.” Dr. Rea, who worked with Dr. Egna over the past 22 years, also noted how her strong relationship with WAS helped to increase the visibility of the CRSP.

Additionally, Dr. Egna has published on a range of related topics, including the collection Dynamics of Pond Aquaculture, co-edited with Dr. Claude Boyd, which compiled the research results of P/DA CRSP researchers. Dr. Egna received her MA in Aquaculture/Fisheries and PhD in Resource Geography from Oregon State University.