Gene Helfman, a professor emeritus in the Odum School of Ecology, received the inaugural Meritorious Teaching Award in Ichthyology from two major scientific societies for the study of fishes.
The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists is an international organization devoted to the scientific study of fishes, reptiles and amphibians; and the American Elasmobranch Society supports the scientific study of sharks, skates and rays. They presented the award at the 2014 joint meeting of ichthyologists and herpetologists in Chattanooga.