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CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) Valley City State University seniors Tom Dodson and Aaron Burgad took top honors in the A. Rodger Denison Award competition for best undergraduate presentation at the annual meeting of the North Dakota Academy of Science held on the VCSU campus April 24.

Dodson, from Jamestown won first place with “In Search of the Rusty Crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) in North Dakota,” a presentation on the research he completed with Louis Wieland, lab manager of VCSU’s Prairie Waters Education and Research Center, and Andre DeLorme, professor and chair of the VCSU Department of Science and director of Prairie Waters Education and Research Center.

Burgad, from Argusville took second place with “Recovery of a Restored Native Cutthroat Trout Population after Watershed Renovation,” a presentation on his research with Casey Williams, VCSU assistant professor of science, and Carter Kruse, aquatic resource coordinator for Turner Enterprises Inc.

The Denison awards include cash prizes. Both Dodson and Burgad are seniors majoring in fisheries and wildlife science at Valley City State University.

Founded in 1908, the North Dakota Academy of Science promotes scientific research and the dissemination of scientific knowledge.