{"id":7,"date":"2009-06-19T09:17:22","date_gmt":"2009-06-19T14:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sdafs.org\/reservoir\/?page_id=6"},"modified":"2026-03-20T19:52:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T19:52:30","slug":"robert-m-jenkins-memorial-reservoir-research-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/sdafsreservoircommittee\/robert-m-jenkins-memorial-reservoir-research-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert M. Jenkins Scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robert M. Jenkins Memorial Reservoir Research Scholarship<\/h1>\n

The Reservoir Technical Committee of the Southern Division AFS, established the Robert M. Jenkins Memorial Reservoir Research Scholarship in 1997, to memorialize and honor the late Robert \u201cBob\u201d Jenkins and his contributions to reservoir fisheries management. Bob was a member of the American Fisheries society for more than 45 years and his vast contributions to the field of reservoir fishery science paved the way for today\u2019s reservoir managers. Bob was elected to the National Fisheries Hall of Excellence in 1995. The Scholarship is intended to provide financial assistance to graduate students conducting reservoir-related fisheries research in the southeastern United States who show exceptional progress in their research, education, and professional endeavors. To date, over $43,000 has been awarded to young fisheries professionals through this scholarship.<\/p>\n

Beginning in 2025, the scholarship was expanded to allow applications from graduate students conducting reservoir related research throughout the United States<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This competitive scholarship will award $1,000 directly to the successful applicant. It may be used for any aspect of graduate education including, but not limited to, tuition, textbooks, equipment, travel or living expenses. Additionally, candidates are asked to present their research, in person, to the Reservoir Technical Committee at the annual Southern Division American Fisheries Society meeting. Travel funding will be made available, as necessary, to ensure the scholarship winner can attend.<\/p>\n

Selection criteria are based on research, education, professional and civic activities and letter of recommendation from a major professor\/faculty advisor. Research and education activities can be associated with any aspect of reservoir ecosystem management. Special consideration will be given to applicants whose research has nationwide applicability to reservoir sportfish populations, sportfish habitat, or their forage. Professional activities in fishery-related student organizations, AFS Chapters, and similar organizations are desirable. Applicable public services include any voluntary activities but those pertaining to conservation and fishing are most desirable.<\/p>\n

A sub-committee of Reservoir Technical Committee members will review applications and present recommendations to the Reservoir Technical Committee Chairperson for approval. All application materials must be received by October 15th<\/sup> each year,<\/u><\/strong> unless specified otherwise.<\/u><\/p>\n

Application materials can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

2026 Recipient:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Reservoir Technical Committee is proud to announce Tristan Blechinger from the University of Wyoming as the recipient of the 2026 Robert M. Jenkins Memorial Reservoir Research Scholarship.<\/p>\n

Tristan is working on his Ph.D. under the guidance of Dr. William Fetzer. His project is investigating food web dynamics in western reservoirs, with an emphasis on how management actions, shifts in productivity, and climate change will affect fisheries and socio-ecological systems. The research directly addresses knowledge gaps regarding the role of introduced apex predators on reservoir food webs. He is quantifying the foraging behavior of two apex predators, Lake Trout and Walleye, using stable isotopes and diet analysis. Understanding specific patterns of resource use will allow managers to adopt population-specific strategies, maximizing returns while maintaining desired predator populations. This research is relevant throughout the US by helping managers understand how food webs may respond to different predators invading a waterbody.<\/p>\n

Tristan has been very active in his young professional career, gaining valuable field and laboratory experience. He has authored or co-authored multiple publications and given numerous professional presentations. His career goal is to become a research scientist to continue and further understanding of our unique aquatic ecosystems.<\/p>\n

Tristan was unable to attend the 2026 SDAFS meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. However, he presented his research remotely via Zoom during the Reservoir Technical Committee meeting. Tristan was presented the check from the Reservoir Technical Committee by his advisor Dr. Fetzer at the University of Wyoming. Congratulations Tristan!<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robert M. Jenkins Memorial Reservoir Research Scholarship The Reservoir Technical Committee of the Southern Division AFS, established the Robert M. Jenkins Memorial Reservoir Research Scholarship in 1997, to memorialize and honor the late Robert \u201cBob\u201d Jenkins and his contributions to reservoir fisheries management. Bob was a member of the American Fisheries society for more than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd","first-child","last-child"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/sdafsreservoircommittee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/sdafsreservoircommittee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/sdafsreservoircommittee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/sdafsreservoircommittee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/sdafsreservoircommittee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/sdafsreservoircommittee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1166,"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/sdafsreservoircommittee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions\/1166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/sdafsreservoircommittee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}