ASPB Awards


In 2024 ASPB will be awarding accomplished plant biologists across all areas of plant science and at all stages of their career.  ASPB awards offered in 2024 are the:


Please note: Eligibility for Fellow of ASPB nominations requires an individual to have been a member of ASPB for 10 years cumulative (not consecutive).

To confirm nominee eligibility regarding ASPB membership status for those awards that require membership, please contact award nominations at info@aspb.org to verify.

 

Nominations for 2024 awards open January 3, 2024, and close February 21, 2024.

ASPB has more that 18 awards that recognize the meritorious research and service in plant biology by the presentation of awards to deserving individuals. Selection of individuals for awards shall be made by selection from the nominations submitted by the membership.

Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award

This monetary award honors the Gude Family, who made possible the establishment of the Gude Plant Science Center. The award, established by the Society and first given in 1983, is made triennially to a scientist or lay person in recognition of outstanding service to the science of plant biology. Membership in the Society is not a requirement for the award.

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ASPB-Carnegie Winslow Briggs Mentorship Award

The ASPB-Carnegie Winslow Briggs Mentorship award honors Winslow Briggs and his outstanding contributions, leadership, and mentorship in plant biology, as well as his extraordinary career-long attendance at ASPB annual meetings. This biennial monetary award recognizes an individual with at least five years of continuous membership at the time the award is made for their demonstrated commitment to mentoring and supporting next-generation scientists, for making a significant positive impact on their former mentees’ careers, and for advancing research in the field of plant science through their former mentees. The recipient is invited to chair a concurrent symposium at the Plant Biology conference in the year following their award.

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The ASPB Innovation Prize for Agricultural Technology

This prize was inaugurated in 2015 to recognize the outstanding work of industry scientists in companies of all sizes who translate discovery research into real-world outcomes that benefit agriculture. The award additionally acts as a vehicle to increase the awareness of the highest quality science performed by industry scientists, whether or not they are members of the society upon nomination, and showcases the opportunities and rewards of this career path. The Innovation Prize, which is made biennially, is a monetary award that also provides a one-year membership in the Society.

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ASPB Leadership in Science Public Service Award

The ASPB Public Affairs Committee awards the ASPB Leadership in Science Public Service Award annually to recognize individuals who have advanced the mission of ASPB and its members through significant contributions to plant science and public policy leadership. Awardees generally have made contributions to the broader society that are relevant to the work of plant biologists; recipients need not be plant scientists themselves.

The ASPB Leadership in Science Public Service Award recipient is invited to address the Society during the annual meeting held in the year of their award.

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Pioneer Hi-Bred

ASPB–Pioneer Hi-Bred Graduate Student Fellowship

This award, made possible by the generosity of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, recognizes and encourages innovative graduate research and innovation in areas of plant biology that relate to important commodity crops. One $22,000 fellowship will be given annually from 2010 through 2013, with an additional $1,000 awarded for the recipient to attend the ASPB annual meeting in the year of their award. Each nominee must attend a U.S.-accredited college or university and must demonstrate interest in the study of plant biology or a related discipline. Each nominee must be a Ph.D. candidate—i.e., have successfully passed their preliminary examinations, must demonstrate an excellent academic record, and must be a member of ASPB. An individual may receive this prize only once.

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Charles Albert Shull

The Charles Albert Shull Award – (award for 2020)

This award was initiated in 1971 by the Society to honor Dr. Charles A. Shull, whose personal interest and support were largely responsible for the founding and early growth of the Society. It is a monetary award made annually for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology by a member who is generally under forty-five years of age on January 1st of the year of presentation, or is fewer than ten years from the granting of the doctoral degree. Breaks in careers will be considered when addressing the age limit of this award. The recipient is invited to address the Society at the annual meeting the following year.

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Charles F. Kettering Award

This award was established by an endowment from the Kettering Foundation in 1962 to recognize excellence in the field of photosynthesis. It is a monetary award to be given in even-numbered years to an individual for meritorious work in photosynthesis. ASPB membership is not required.

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Charles Reid Barnes

Charles Reid Barnes Life Membership Award

This is the oldest award, established in 1925 at the first annual meeting of the Society through the generosity of Dr. Charles A. Shull. It honors Dr. Charles Reid Barnes, the first professor of plant physiology at the University of Chicago. It is an annual award for meritorious work in plant biology; it provides a life membership in the Society to an individual who is at least sixty years old. Membership is not a requirement for the award, and, if appropriate, every fifth award should be made to an outstanding plant biologist from outside the United States.

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Corresponding Membership Award

Enid MacRobbie Corresponding Membership

This honor, initially given in 1932, provides life membership and Society publications to distinguished plant biologists from outside the United States. The honor is conferred by election on the annual ballot. The committee selects no more than three (3) candidates, and these are placed on the ballot for approval of corresponding membership by majority vote. The president notifies successful candidates of their election. Election of a corresponding member is to be considered each year, and held if warranted, provided the election will not increase the number of corresponding members beyond two (2) percent of the dues-paying membership. Membership is required for this award.

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Dennis Hoagland

Dennis R. Hoagland Award

This monetary award, established by the Society in 1985 with funds provided by the Monsanto Agricultural Products Company, honors Dr. Dennis R. Hoagland, recipient of the first Hales award, for his outstanding contributions and leadership in plant mineral nutrition. The award, to be made not more frequently than triennially, is for outstanding plant research in support of agriculture.

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Early Career

The Early Career Award

The Early Career Award was instituted by the Society in 2005 to recognize outstanding research by scientists at the beginnings of their careers. This award is a monetary award made annually for exceptionally creative, independent contributions by an individual, whether or not a member of the Society, who is generally not more than seven years post-Ph.D. on January 1st of the year of the presentation. Breaks in careers will be considered when addressing the time limit of this award.

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Eric E. Conn

Eric E. Conn Young Investigator Award

The Eric E. Conn Young Investigator Award, first given by the Society in 2011, honors Eric E. Conn’s contributions in plant biology by recognizing young scientists who will be inspired to follow in his footsteps. The award recognizes not only outstanding research but also demonstrated excellence in outreach, public service, mentoring, or teaching by plant scientists at the beginning of their careers. This award is a monetary award made biennially for demonstrated commitment by a member of the Society who is generally not more than five years post-Ph.D. on January 1st of the year of the presentation. It also provides a one year membership to the Society. Breaks in careers will be considered when addressing the time limit of this award.

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Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award

First awarded in 2022, the ASPB-Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award is a biennial award. The award honors an ASPB member with a strong record of increasing diversity and inclusiveness in the broad area of plant biology. The awardee has made a significant impact in mentoring, supporting, and/or advocating for the careers in plant sciences of individuals belonging to underrepresented communities. The individual may have made a significant impact in outreach and service to underrepresented communities and serves as a role model. The awardee will receive a cash award and be invited to give a plenary lecture at the next annual meeting. A travel allowance will also be provided for travel and meeting registration in the year of the plenary lecture.

Excellence in Education

Excellence in Education Award

This award was initiated in 1988 to recognize outstanding teaching, mentoring, and/or educational outreach in plant biology. It is a monetary award to be made annually in recognition of excellence in teaching, leadership in curricular development, or authorship of effective teaching materials in the science of plant biology.

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Fellow of ASPB

Fellow of ASPB Award

Established in 2007, the Fellow of ASPB award may be granted in recognition of distinguished and long-term contributions to plant biology and service to the Society by current members in areas that include research, education, mentoring, outreach, and professional and public service. Current members of ASPB who have contributed to the Society for at least 10 years are eligible for nomination. Recipients of the Fellow of ASPB honor, which may be granted to no more than 0.2% of the current membership each year, receive a certificate of distinction and a lapel pin.

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Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology Research

The ASPB Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology Research was approved by the Society’s executive committee in 2005 to honor Dr. Bogorad’s many contributions to plant biology, including his influential efforts to bring the techniques of molecular biology to bear on problems in plant biology; his groundbreaking research on chloroplast genetics, biogenesis, structure, and function;and his inspired teaching and mentoring. The ASPB Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology Research is a monetary award made biennially to a plant scientist whose work both illuminates the present and suggests paths to enlighten the future.

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Martin Gibbs

Martin Gibbs Medal

The Martin Gibbs Medal was instituted by the Society’s executive committee in 1993 to honor Martin Gibbs, editor of Plant Physiology from 1963 to 1992. The Gibbs Medal is presented biennially to an individual who has pioneered advances that have served to establish new directions of investigation in the plant sciences. The winner will receive the medal and will be invited to convene a Martin Gibbs Medal Symposium at the annual meeting the following year.

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Robert Rabson

Robert Rabson Award

The Robert Rabson Award, first given by the Society in 2012, recognizes Bob Rabson’s steadfast advocacy of plant biology through creation of funding programs in the Department of Energy for research in basic energy sciences. The award recognizes postdocs and faculty-level early career scientists, whether or not members of the Society, in academic, government, and corporate research institutions, who have made excellent contributions in the area of bioenergy research. The award, which is made biennially, is a monetary award that also provides a one-year membership in the Society.

This award recognizes Bob Rabson’s steadfast advocacy for plant biology through the creation of funding programs in the Department of Energy for research in basic energy sciences.

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Stephen Hales Prize

This award honors the Reverend Stephen Hales for his pioneering work in plant biology published in his 1727 book Vegetable Staticks. It is a monetary award established in 1927 for a scientist, for an ASPB Member, who has served the science of plant biology in some noteworthy manner. The award is made annually. The recipient of the award is invited to address the Society on a subject in plant biology at the next annual meeting.

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ASPB Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Award

The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) fund promising undergraduate students so they can conduct research in plant biology during the early part of their college careers. The award is made annually. SURF recipients present their research at ASPB’s annual Plant Biology meeting in the year following the fellowship award.

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