Award Descriptions and Requirements
To nominate, please review the award description, eligibility, and specific nomination requirements for the award prior to submitting your award nomination. Nominators resubmitting a nomination are to contact APS to verify nomination status and eligibility.
All award nominations must 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 individual a year for each of the awards noted below. Self nominations are not accepted.
Past Awardees
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 that the nominee may have been nominated for or received.
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 any other APS award.
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. It is highly recommended the nominator update the nomination packet if the nominee was not selected for an award in the first award cycle.
*Lee M. Hutchins, Hewitt, and Noel T. Keen (presented in even years), nominations stand for one award cycle.
Re-nominating Guidelines
- Contact APS to check the nominee's status and nomination award cycle.
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 award cycle, must 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 nominee's name and the award they are being nominated for. 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 the nominee.
3. 1,000 word (max) nomination statement that highlights the contributions of the nominee. Statement to include their full name, place of birth, institutions along with degrees and years granted, and their current position. The remainder of the statement should be focused and succinct and document the relevancy and impact of the nominee's contributions to the advancement of science and plant pathology.
The nomination statement will be used in the formal award announcement included in Phytopathology News and posted on the APS website.
4. 125-word (max) narrative statement that is used for the audio recording played at the award ceremony.
Narratives must meet the following requirements:
Include the phonetic spelling of nominee's full name.
Begin statement by introducing the nominee's name efficiently, and their current position and affiliation only.
Do not include windy institute names, endowed or honorary titles, previous awards, unfamiliar or obscure acronyms or abbreviations, as these are awkward in a spoken statement.
Focus the remainder of the narrative on the MOST important and high-impact contributions of the nominee, why they are deserving of the award, and finally, ending the narrative with a concise closing sentence.
Read the finished statement out loud to a few generalist colleagues and revise accordingly.
5. Curriculum vitae (max 2-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
Submit 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. Nominations for 2026 awards are accepted through December 1, 2025.
Reviewing Committee and Notice
The Awards and Honors Committee reviews nominations and present their award nominee recommendations to APS Council in February of each year for final approval. Individuals selected to receive an award are notified by the APS President (typically in late February/early March). A formal APS award announcement is included in Phytopathology News (typically in the June issue) and posted on the ASP website. Awardees are recognized and celebrated during the award ceremony at the APS annual meeting.
Questions? Contact Linda Schmitt at APS.
