2021 – Adrienne Roeder – for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology
2020 – Zachary Lippman – for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology
2019 – Siobhan Brady – for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology
2018 – Nathan Springer – for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology
2017 – Blake Meyers – for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology
2016 – Jiří Friml – for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology
2015 – Cyril Zipfel – for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology
2014 – Libo Shan – for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology
2013 – Harvey Millar – for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology
2012 – Elizabeth Ainsworth – for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology
2011 – Sean Cutler – for his professional activities and his globally known, pioneering and seminal research
2010 – Dominique Bergmann – for her identification of a transcriptional network and its emerging connections to upstream signaling and making stomatal differentiation the most completely understood model for cellular differentiation in plant biology
2009 – Steven E. Jacobsen – for his pioneering research in critical areas of plant genetics, development, cell biology, and biochemistry
2008 – Sheng Luan– for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology
2007 – Samuel C. Zeeman – for pioneering research leading to the discovery of new proteins and pathways in starch synthesis and degradation in leaves
2006 – Xuemei Chen – for her pioneering research in the genetic analysis of developmental mechanisms in plants with an emphasis on the roles of RNA-based gene regulation
2005 – Krishna Niyogi – for his pioneering research in the areas of photosynthesis
2003 – Jian-Kang Zhu – for his work in the identification of key genes for modifying the responses of crops to environmental stresses
2001 Detlef Weigel in recognition of his seminal contributions to one of the most challenging problems in developmental biology: the induction of floral development
1999 Sabeeha Merchant for her research on the role of metals in regulating the biosynthesis and assembly of metalloproteins in photosynthetic eukaryotes
1997 Julian I. Schroeder for his original and innovative research on plant ion channels, guard cell signal transduction, and mineral uptake
1995 Joanne Chory for her highly original innovative research that has started to reveal the molecular architecture of the signal pathways between light perception and downstream photomorphogenic responses such as gene activation, leaf development, and growth control
1993 Ilya Raskin for innovative research that ties plant responses to underlying biochemical and physical processes
1991 Daniel Cosgrove for his incisive work on the biophysics of plant cell enlargement
1989 Sharon R. Long for her pioneering research in plant-microbe interactions
1987 Christopher R. Somerville for his innovative applications of mutant analysis of an angiosperm to the elucidation of metabolic pathways
1985 Robert T. Giaquinta for his incisive investigations of photosynthate translocation in phloem tissues
1983 Brian A. Larkins for his pioneering studies of the molecular genetics of higher plants
1981 Lee H. Pratt for outstanding innovative research which advanced our knowledge and understanding of phytochrome physiology, biochemistry, and biophysics
1979 Charles J. Arntzen for investigations of the development of chloroplasts and the structure and function of their membranes
1977 John S. Boyer for outstanding contributions in the field of water relations
1975 Thomas Kent Hodges for an outstanding contribution to the field of active ion uptake by plants
1973 Peter Albersheim for outstanding contributions to our understanding of the chemical structure and physiology of plant cell walls
1971 Peter Martin Ray for his contributions to our understanding of the auxin control of cell wall synthesis and cell extension