Tom Boellstorff, anthropology professor, has received the 2009 Dorothy Lee Award for Outstanding Scholarship in the Ecology of Culture from the Media Ecology Association for Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human. Published in 2008, the book is an anthropological exploration of the online virtual world “Second Life” in which Boellstorff “lived” for two years observing its residents to learn how commonly held ideas of identity and society are being reshaped. Learn more about his experiences as the computer-generated avatar, Tom Bukowski. The book was also recently recognized with an Honorable Mention for the PROSE Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence in Media and Cultural Studies from the Association of American Publishers.