The Environmental Law Institute will recognize K. Ramesh Reddy, along with four others, for the annual National Wetlands Awards on Wednesday.
Ramesh Reddy — a UF faculty member for 37 years — said he was delighted to hear about his nomination for the award, which his mentor also won in 2002. He studies wetlands and aquatic systems.
“Peer recognition is a big deal,” he said. “I’m very appreciative.”
The program has honored over 200 wetland scientists since 1989, and Ramesh Reddy will be recognized for science research, said Kathryn Campbell, a Gator alumna and program manager for the awards.
She said the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., will host the ceremony, which aligns with National Wetlands month.
Campbell said about 100 guests are expected to attend. Though the event is free and open to the public, an RSVP is required.
Each award recipient will receive a framed print of a blue heron, which was created by Richard Newton and appears on the cover of the National Wetlands Newsletter, she said.
Jerry Roach, an acting team leader for the Natural Resource Conservation Service, will present Ramesh Reddy’s award.
John White, a UF alumnus and former student of Ramesh Reddy, nominated the professor. White said he is currently a professor of oceanography and coastal sciences at Louisiana State University.
“He’s always been really humble and tried to stay out of the limelight — just doing his great work,” White said. “I think sometimes those people get forgotten, and he’s certainly somebody that’s very deserving.”
White said he uses a textbook authored by Ramesh Reddy in his classroom, and he tries to be there for his students, just as the UF professor was for him.
White and Ramesh Reddy recently obtained a grant to research the impact of the BP oil spill on Coastal Louisiana, where most of the oil came ashore, White said.
White said it’s surprising Ramesh Reddy has not already won the prestigious award. He is looking forward to watching his mentor be recognized on Wednesday.
Though Ramesh Reddy is excited to receive the award, it will not immediately go on display.
“You will not see any awards in my office,” he said. “It’s self-promotion, and I don’t like it. When I retire I will put it on the wall, but not before.”
