The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) offers three annual awards to recognise and celebrate excellence in conservation science. One of these is for the most outstanding PhD thesis in conservation science and the School is very pleased to announce that the 2015 winner was Dr Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita, an SMSAS PhD student who graduated in 2012.

Guru now works at the University of Melbourne in Australia, and her thesis was chosen because it has already had a tangible impact on the conservation of a threatened species – the Sumatran tiger – and will contribute to the conservation of many others in future.

Guru commented: “I am delighted to receive this award. The RSPB is widely known for the high quality of its conservation science, and obtaining recognition from such an inspiring organisation is a real honour.” She will be continuing to work hard to support successful conservation decisions.

Further details about the awards are on the RSPB website at http://www.rspb.org.uk/forprofessionals/science/news/awards.