Award Descriptions and Requirements
Nominations for 2026 awards will open September 2025.
Review the award description, eligibility, and specific nomination requirements for the award prior to submitting your award nomination.
All award nominations should address the activities most relevant to the award, with a clear statement of the impact the nominee has had in their specific area of expertise.
APS members may nominate one candidate a year for each of the awards noted below. Self nominations are not accepted.
General Nomination Requirements
All nominees are expected to maintain the highest professional standards of scientific objectivity, dispassion, ethical conduct, and comply with the APS Code of Conduct.
Membership in APS is required for the nominee (both at the time of nomination and upon receipt of award) except if being nominated for the Award of Distinction, Lee M. Hutchins Award or Ruth Allen Award.
In general, nominations for any APS award must specify how the contributions in the current nomination differ from those used as a basis for a previous APS award.
Fellows of APS who are being nominated for a subsequent Awards of Excellence are only considered if the nominator specifies how the contributions in the current nomination differ from those on which the Fellow nomination was based originally, and where the new accomplishment has occurred after recognition of an APS Fellow. A period of five years should elapse between recognition as an APS Fellow and nomination for an Award of Excellence.
The Awards and Honors Committee may decide not to give out an award if there are no suitable nominations received.
Deceased APS members are not eligible for an award if they died before being nominated.
- Nominations stand for three award cycles*, unless noted otherwise, and are kept on file by APS.
*Lee M. Hutchins, Hewitt, and Noel T. Keen (presented in even years), nominations stand for one award cycle.
Re-nominating
- Contact APS to check the status and award cycle year for the award renomination.
When re-nominating an individual it is highly encouraged that the nominator update their previous year's nomination and resubmit a new nomination package that includes an updated cover letter along with any new credentials or supporting data.
Nominees not selected by the third year of the award cycle, will need to wait a period of three years from the last year of consideration in the award cycle before being nominated again for the award.
Award Nomination Material Requirements
Nomination materials are required to be compiled in the following order prior to submitting the nomination:
1. Nomination Form is a writeable PDF document, download the
Nomination Form and include it as the first page of the nomination package.
2. One page cover letter that includes the candidate’s name and the award for which the nomination is made. The letter may provide additional insight into the significance of the contributions that is
not already provided in the nomination statement or nomination form. Do not submit multiple letters of support for a candidate’s nomination.
3. 1,000 word (max) nomination statement that highlights the contributions of the candidate and includes their name, place of birth, institutions along with degrees and years granted, and their current position. The statement should be focused and succinct and document the relevancy and impact of the candidate’s contributions to the advancement of science and plant pathology. This is posted on the APS website and linked to the formal award announcement in Phytopathology News.
4. A 125-words or less narrative statement that is used for the audio recording played at the award ceremony. Please adhere to the following narrative requirements:
Introduce the nominee's name efficiently (including either an audio file or phonetic spelling of their full name), their current position and affiliation only.
Do not include windy institute names, endowed or honorary titles, previous awards, unfamiliar or obscure acronyms or abbreviations. They are awkward in a spoken statement.
Focus the remainder of the summary on the MOST important and high-impact contributions of the nominee, plus a closing sentence to wrap up the summary.
Read the finished statement out loud to a few generalist colleagues and revise accordingly.
5. Curriculum vitae, not to exceed two pages.
6. Complete list of publications. The list should be separated into the following categories, with the most recent publications listed first. Do not include abstracts and manuscripts not yet accepted.
Refereed journal articles
Extension publications
Books, reviews, and book chapters
Technical publications (e.g., monographs, reports, symposium papers, proceedings, etc.)
Popular publications
Invited presentations
Submitting Your Nomination
Save the completedNomination Form and above mentioned materials in the required order into one PDF document and upload when submitting the online nomination. Incomplete submissions will not be reviewed or considered. Online nominations for the 2026 awards will open in September 2025 and close on December 1, 2025.
Reviewing Committee and Notice
The Awards and Honors Committee reviews and selects nominations, and submits the names of the nominees in February to APS Council for approval. Individuals selected to receive an award are notified by the APS President (typically in late February/early March). The formal APS award announcement is included in Phytopathology News (typically in the June issue) and posted on the ASP website. Awardees are recognized during the award ceremony at the APS annual meeting.
