Warren Perry has been awarded a 2013 Smithsonian Research Prize from G. Wayne Clough, current Secretary of the Smithsonian. Warren's award is for the publication of Echoes of Elvis: The Cultural Legacy of Elvis Presley (Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2012), the proceedings of an academic symposium on Elvis Presley held at the National Portrait Gallery in March 2010.
The Smithsonian Secretary awards only ten annual Distinguished Research Prizes recognizing excellence in recent research by the institution’s employees. The award nominations are juried by a committee named by the Smithsonian Congress of Scholars and then must be approved by the Secretary.
This year's Research Prizes will be celebrated at an awards ceremony on September 22; more details about the event are forthcoming. A link to the official awards letter may be found here.
