The Pikaia Award

In 2002, the Paleontology Division introduced a new award, the Pikaia Award. The Pikaia Award is awarded in recognition of a recent contribution to research on any aspect of Canadian paleontology, or by a Canadian to paleontology, that is judged to constitute an outstanding accomplishment in the field. The outstanding accomplishment may be a single paper or monograph or a series of closely related papers. The award will normally go to an individual who is no more than 15 years past their last degree.

The Pikaia award is named after Pikaia, an early cephalochordate known from the Burgess Shale. It is awarded biennially in even-numbered years.