Environmental Scholar Has an Owl Named in Her Honor

Jolanda Luksenburg, who earned a Ph.D. in environmental science at George Mason University in 2012, has had a newly discovered species of owl named in her honor.

Dr. Luksenburg was vacationing in Indonesia with her husband in 2003 when they heard the call of an owl they had never heard before. After a decade of research, she was able to determine that the owl was indeed a previously unknown species. The new bird was called the Rinjani Scops Owl with the scientific name of otus jolandae in honor of Dr. Luksenburg.

The owl discovery was accidental. Dr. Luksenburg’s research focuses on the marine life surrounding the island of Aruba.