Congratulations to Dr. Kevin Judge, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Science, the recipient of MacEwan’s 2023 Dr. Sherrill Brown Distinguished Research Award.
Each year, the Dr. Sherrill Brown Distinguished Research Award recognizes one faculty member who conducts exceptional scholarly work that has demonstrated significant contributions to society and the scholarly community — locally, nationally or internationally.
"Dr. Judge and his work in animal behaviour and sexual selection are highly regarded and widely recognized," says Dr. Craig Monk, provost and vice-president, Academic. "A clear leader in his field, he received an NSERC Discovery Grant in 2017. He has presented his findings internationally and domestically and has published 23 articles in peer-reviewed journals: together, these publications have received over 500 citations."
"Dr. Judge’s research has a profound influence on his approach to teaching,” says Dr. Monk. “He is a firm believer in knowledge translation, which is illustrated by his commitment to provide students in all his classes with the opportunity to contribute to research projects. His supervision of honours thesis and independent study students has led them to their own successes in graduate-level programs and in their careers. We are pleased to recognize his excellence in research."
About this year’s recipient
Dr. Judge completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. at the University of Guelph and then a PhD at the University of Toronto Mississauga. After working on the mating system of the bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario for his M.Sc., Kevin made the switch to working on sexual selection, or competition over mates, in the fall field cricket (Gryllus pennsylvanicus) for his PhD dissertation. He followed that up with a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Lethbridge working on the evolution of aggressive behaviour and weaponry in North American field crickets.
His current research interests involve the study of sexual selection in a group of sexually cannibalistic insects (genus Cyphoderris) and how that competition selects for a range of diverse behaviours and morphologies, as well as the interaction between ecology and mating system. Kevin's teaching interests closely mirror his research experience, and he teaches a third-year course in entomology (ZOOL 325: Entomology) and a first-year course in introductory biology (BIOL 108: Introduction to Evolution).
Dr. Judge will receive a Distinguished Research Award as part of the university’s spring convocation ceremonies on June 20 at 9:30 a.m.