American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists

Award Announcement

C. Richard Robins (1928–2020) was an American academic, environmentalist and ichthyologist. During his many years at the University of Miami Rosensteil School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences he mentored many MS and PhD students, 61 total, who went on to make important contributions to Ichthyology and ASIH, and to other fields of science. There he built a large and important collection of especially Caribbean fishes (~33,000 lots upon his retirement), and continued to make important contributions in retirement at the University of Kansas.'“Dick” Robins also was a long time active member and former president of ASIH.

In 2024, the C. Richard Robins Memorial Fund was established by founding donors Jonathan Baskin, Tomio Iwamoto, Robert Lea, David Smith and Catherine Robins. The Robins Award is a subcategory of the ASIH Raney Award. This is particularly appropriate as Dick was a student of Ed Raney at Cornell University. They were long time close friends and scientific colleagues, and published many papers together.

Starting in 2025, one Robins Award will be granted annually by the ASIH Raney Award Committee. The award supports graduate student research in the field of marine ichthyology. The funds may be used to support student ichthyologists in museum or laboratory study, travel, fieldwork, or any other activity that will effectively enhance their professional careers and their contributions to the science of marine ichthyology.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their application to the Raney Fund Committee. Please consult the “To Apply” section of the Raney Fund announcement for instructions on how to apply. Application requirements for the Robins Award are the same as for the Raney Award.

If you wish to donate to the C. Richard Robins Memorial Fund, please visit the Society’s business site.