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U of M alum named one of "50 Best Brains in Science" by Discover Magazine
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 12/2/2008 ) -- William Hilton, Jr., an alumnus of the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences, was named among "50 Best Brains in Science" in the latest edition of Discover magazine. Discover cites Hilton for his 26-year record of banding more than 52,000 wild birds at Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History, a non-profit education, research and conservation organization he established in 1982 on family property in York, S. C. Hilton is an internationally recognized authority on hummingbirds and founder of "Operation Ruby Throat: The Hummingbird Project," through which he leads annual expeditions into Costa Rica for teachers and citizen scientists who help him study and band overwintering hummingbirds. Discover chose scientists from all walks of life, ranging from top universities and government agencies to less traditional settings. Others included physicist Stephen Hawking, entomologist E.O. Wilson, Harold Varmus of the National Institutes of Health and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Hilton graduated in 1982 from the University of Minnesota with an M.S. in ecology and behavioral biology. He spent his first summer taking field biology courses at Lake Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories and then did a four-year study on the behavioral biology of bluejays at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. The late Bud Tordoff, who was a professor in the College of Biological Sciences and director of the Bell Museum of Natural History, was his graduate adviser. Hilton is now executive director of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History in York. The mission of the center is to conserve plants, animals, habitats and other natural components of the Piedmont Region of the eastern United States through observation, scientific study and education for students of all ages. Hilton returned Nov. 22 from a two-week expedition to El Salvador and Guatemala, where he became the first scientist to capture, band and release ruby-throated hummingbirds in those countries. "It's amazing how the tiny ruby-throats fly all the way to Central America in autumn and then come back to the same backyards in South Carolina the following spring," Hilton said. "My banding work in the tropics is important because it helps us understand hummingbird migration and the value of protecting habitat on both ends of the migratory path." Hilton makes public presentations about nature topics throughout North and Central America and hosts field trips for schools, organizations and individuals at his York facility. "This Week at Hilton Pond," his award-winning photo essays published on-line at www.hiltonpond.org, are widely read and used as resources by students, teachers, scientists and the general public. He has received numerous other awards, including the Prize of Excellence from Yamagata University in Japan for projects involving "Nature and Human Symbiosis." More information about his work is available at www.hiltonpond.org and www.rubythroat.org An on-line version of Discover magazine's "50 Best Brains in Science" is at http://discovermagazine.com/2008/dec/19-the-50-most-important-influential-and-promising-people-in-science ---------- |
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