Neil Bernstein, professor of biology, won the prestigious Distinguished Fellow award from the Iowa Academy of Science. Bernstein’s long-time interests include ornithology, conservation, ecology, environmental issues, and animal behavior. He has studied Antarctic seabirds and, currently, box turtle and sand prairie ecologies.

Bernstein has been instrumental in leading student-faculty research opportunities at Mount Mercy, mentoring more than 25 research students since 2000, along with providing numerous internship placements. In the same time, he published 11 papers in peer-reviewed journals, edited two symposia, and published book reviews and popular articles.

Since 2000, Bernstein has received almost $150,000 for his studies on turtles and sand prairie ecology, some in conjunction with his colleagues at Cornell College. He was also a member of two research teams that were awarded almost $600,000 in grants, which helped support student research and expenses.

He served as president of the Iowa Academy of Science and editor of the Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science. Currently, he is an associate editor for the Journal of Herpetology. ■