Awards
Nomination process and schedule
The 2025 awards cycle is closed.
Please check back to submit a nomination.
ESA welcomes nominations that reflect the diversity of the Society’s members. Unless otherwise stated, nominees may be of any nationality or place of residence with priority given to ESA members.
The 2025 ESA Awards deadline is Monday, November 18, 2024. All submissions must be submitted through the online awards submission site for review. Incomplete nominations will not be reviewed by any of the Awards Subcommittees.
If you would like to include the nominee in the submission process, you can make them a collaborator of the form. In the top right corner of the application, you can click the “Manage Collaborators” button. From there, add the nominees name and email address and they can edit portions of the form. Only the nominator has the ability to submit the form.
If you are nominating someone for the George Mercer, W.S. Cooper, or the Sustainability Science Award you need to include a letter of nomination with the full citation and an electronic copy of the publication. George Mercer and W.S. Cooper nominations also need to include one required letter of support and no more than two additional letters of support. The letter of nomination and letters of support should be no longer than two pages. If a publisher nominates a book for the Sustainability Award it must be accompanied by other non-publisher nominations (i.e., academics and/or practitioners).
If you are nominating someone for either a Fellow or an Early Career Fellow nomination, three nominators will need to submit a joint letter that describes the nominee’s most significant contributions and their impact in the areas of research & discovery, communication & outreach, teaching & pedagogy, and application to management & policy, a curriculum vitae at most four pages and at least one and preferably two additional letters of support. The letter of nomination and letters of support should be no longer than two pages.
For all other awards you should include a letter of nomination, a curriculum vitae at most four pages, one required letter of support, and no more than two additional letters of support unless noted at the top of the individual award submission page within the online submission site. The letter of nomination and letters of support should be no longer than two pages. For all questions, please contact gro.asenull@sdrawa.
In Spring 2022, the ESA Governing Board adopted a formal Conflict of Interest (COI) policy for the Awards and Fellows program.
ESA members holding the following leadership positions, and their immediate family members (spouse / life partner, children, parents, siblings), are not eligible to be candidates for awards or Fellows during their term of service (with some exceptions, noted below):
- ESA Governing Board Member
- ESA Awards Chair
- Awards Nomination Subcommittee Members
- Award Subcommittee chairs and members (ineligible to be candidates for their respective award)
- Section and Chapter Executive Committee members and selection committee members (ineligible to be candidates for awards from their section/chapter)
Sitting Governing Board members and the Award Chair are unable to submit award nominations during their term.
Past Press Releases
ESA Awards
Eminent Ecologist Award
The Eminent Ecologist Award is given to a senior ecologist in recognition of an outstanding body of ecological work or of sustained ecological contributions of extraordinary merit.
Introduced in 1953, the award includes:
- Lifetime Membership
- $700 Travel Award
- Globe
For more information on the Eminent Ecologist award, click here.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Juan Carlos Castilla, Gretchen Daily, Jianguo (Jack) Liu, Steward T.A. Pickett, Monica G. Turner.
Awards Committee
See the list of this year’s members.
Robert H. MacArthur Award
The Robert H. MacArthur Award is given to an established ecologist in mid-career for meritorious contributions to ecology, in the expectation of continued outstanding ecological research and who generally are within 25 years from PhD.
Please note:
The award is given every other year. The award is open every even year. The MacArthur lecture is given during the following year at the Scientific Plenary Session.
Established in 1983, the award recognizes winners with:
- $1,000 cash award
- $700 travel award
- Globe
For more information on the Robert H. MacArthur award, click here.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Kathleen Treseder, Priyanga Amarasekare, Jonathan M. Levine, Katharine N. Suding, Anurag A. Agrawal.
Awards Committee
List of this year’s members.
Eugene P. Odum Award for Excellence in Ecology Education
The Eugene P. Odum Award recognizes an ecologist for outstanding work in ecology education. This award was generously endowed by, and named for, the distinguished ecologist Eugene P. Odum. Through teaching, outreach, and mentoring activities, recipients of this award have demonstrated their ability to relate basic ecological principles to human affairs. Nominations recognizing achievements in education at the university, K–12, and public levels are all encouraged.
Introduced in the year 2000, recipients are recognized with:
- $1,000 cash award
- $700 travel award
- A special trophy
For more information on the Eugene P. Odum Award, click here.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Kari O’Connell, Jorge Ramos, Laurel J. Anderson, George Middendorf, Jennifer Funk.
Awards Committee
List of this year’s members.
George Mercer Award
The Mercer Award is given for an outstanding ecological research paper published by a younger researcher. A paper is published when it’s first put on the journal’s website as an accepted paper.
Started in 1948, this award offers:
- $1000 cash award & $700 travel for the 1st author if under 40 years old
(the lead author must be 40 years of age or younger at the time of publication). - If the award is given for a paper with multiple authors, all authors will receive a plaque, and those 40 years of age or younger at the time of publication will share the monetary prize.
- Nomination letters should include the birth date(s) of the eligible author(s) and explain the novelty and importance of the paper.
- The paper must have been published in 2023 or 2024 to be eligible for this year’s award.
For more information on the George Mercer Award, click here.
Past Recipients
Awards Committee
List of this year’s members.
W.S. Cooper Award
The W. S. Cooper Award is given to honor an outstanding contributor to the fields of geobotany and/or physiographic ecology, the fields in which W. S. Cooper worked. This award is for a single contribution in a scientific publication (single or multiple authored).
First awarded in 1985 the award recognizes recipients with:
- $700 toward travel for the 1st author
- Plaques for each author
For more information on the W.S. Cooper Award, click here.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: M. Brooke Rose, Santiago José Elías Velazco, Helen M. Regan and Janet Franklin
Awards Committee
See this year’s committee roster.
Distinguished Service Citation
The Distinguished Service Citation is given to recognize long and distinguished volunteer service to the ESA, to the larger scientific community, and to the larger purpose of ecology in the public welfare.
First awarded in 1975, the award recognizes winners with:
- Plaque
- $700 travel award
For more information on the Distinguished Service Citation, click here.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Alan Berkowitz, Paul L. Ringold, Harold E. Balbach, Jill S. Baron, Charles Canham.
Awards Committee
This year’s list of the award’s committee.
Sustainability Science Award
The Sustainability Science Award is given to the authors of a scholarly work that makes the greatest contribution to the emerging science of ecosystem and regional sustainability through the integration of ecological and social sciences. One of the most pressing challenges facing humanity is the sustainability of important ecological, social, and cultural processes in the face of changes in the forces that shape ecosystems and regions.
Introduced in 2004, this award is for a single scholarly contribution (book, book chapter, or peer-reviewed journal article) published in the last five years and recipients are provided a:
- Plaque
- $700 travel award
For more information on the Sustainability Science Award, click here.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Jason Rohr, Alexandra E. Sack, Sidy Bakhoum, Christopher B. Barrett, David Lopez-Carr, Andrew J. Chamberlin, David J. Civitello, Cledor Diatta, Molly J. Doruska, Giulio De Leo, Christopher J. E. Haggerty, Isabel J. Jones, Nicolas Jouanard, Andrea J. Lund, Amadou T. Ly, Raphael A. Ndione, Justin V. Remais, Gilles Riveau, Anne-Marie Schacht, Momy Seck Ndao, Simon Senghor, Susanne Helene Sokolow and Caitlin Wolfe
Awards Committee
See this year’s members.
Commitment to Human Diversity in Ecology
The Commitment to Human Diversity in Ecology Award is in recognition of long-standing contributions of an individual toward increasing the diversity of future ecologists through mentoring, teaching, or outreach.
Introduced in 2010:
- Awarded annually with a plaque.
- $700 travel award.
For more information on the Commitment to Human Diversity in Ecology Award, click here.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Porché Spence, Wilnelia Recart Gonzalez, Stan D. Wullschleger, Erika S. Zavaleta, Maria Miriti.
Awards Committee
List of this year’s members.
Robert H. Whittaker Distinguished Ecologist Awards
The Robert H. Whittaker Distinguished Ecologist Awards recognizes an ecologist with an earned doctorate and an outstanding record of contributions in ecology who is not a U.S. citizen and who resides outside the United States. The award will be given every other year. The award is open every odd year.
Introduced in 2014, the award includes
- $1,400 Travel Award
- Awarded with a plaque.
For more information on the Robert H. Whittaker Distinguished Ecologist Award, click here.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Volker Grimm, Juan J. Armesto, David A. Wardle, Jingyun Fang, David B. Lindenmayer.
Awards Committee
List of this year’s members.
International Ecology Award
This International Ecology Award recognizes an ecologist from a developing nation that is early to mid-career for an outstanding record of contributions in Ecology. The award will be given every other year. The award is open every even year.
Started in 2015,
- $1,400 Travel Award
- Awarded with a plaque
For more information on the International Ecology Award, click here.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Yanjie Liu, Jingyun Fang, David B. Lindenmayer, Petr Pyšek, Ezatollah Karami.
Awards Committee
List of this year’s members.
Murray F. Buell Award & E. Lucy Braun Award
These are two specific awards.
Murray F. Buell
Murray F. Buell had a long and distinguished record of service and accomplishment in the Ecological Society of America. Among other things, he ascribed great importance to the participation of students in meetings and to excellence in the presentation of papers. To honor his selfless dedication to the younger generation of ecologists, the Murray F. Buell Award for Excellence in Ecology is given to a student for the outstanding oral paper presented at the ESA Annual Meeting.
Started in 1977 the award offers:
- A certificate and a check for $500 will be presented to each recipient at the following ESA Annual Meeting.
- The student will also receive up to $700 for travel expenses to the Annual Meeting.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Jacob Levine, Sarah Rothman, Reut Vardi, Mahi Puri, Sara P. Bombaci.
Awards Committee
List of this year’s members.
E. Lucy Braun
Lucy Braun, an eminent plant ecologist and one of the charter members of the Society, studied and mapped the deciduous forest regions of eastern North America and described them in her classic book, The Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America. To honor her, the E. Lucy Braun Award for Excellence in Ecology is given to a student for the outstanding poster presentation at the ESA Annual Meeting.
Started in 1988:
- A certificate and a check for $500 will be presented to each recipient at the following ESA Annual Meeting.
- The student will also receive up to $700 for travel expenses to the Annual Meeting.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Alivia Nytko, Shannon M. Collins, Caroline S. Dallstream, Katherine S. Rocci, Jacqueline J. Peña.
Awards Committee
List of this year’s members.
For more information on the Buell and Braun Awards, click here.
ESA Fellows Program
These are two specific awards.
ESA Early Career Fellow
ESA designates an Early Career Fellow of the Society as certain early career members (typically chosen at least 3 years after, but within 8 years of receiving the Ph.D.) who have begun making and show promise of continuing to make outstanding contributions to a wide range of fields served by ESA. Such contributions include, but are not restricted to, those that advance or apply ecological knowledge in academics, government, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector.
- 5 Year Term
- Certificate
For more information on Early Career Fellows, click here.
Past Recipients:
Recent recipients include: Bethann Garramon Merkle, Christine Sprunger, Daijiang Li, Daniel Winkler, Diogo Borges Provete, James Stroud, Jiangxiao Qiu, Kaitlyn Gaynor, Laura Guzman, Mike Gil
Awards Committee
List of this year’s members.
ESA Fellows
ESA designates as Fellows of the Society certain members who have made outstanding contributions to a wide range of fields served by ESA. Such contributions include, but are not restricted to, those that advance or apply ecological knowledge in academics, government, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector.
- They are elected for life.
- Awardees receive a certificate.
For more information on Fellows, click here.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Daniel Costa, Emilly Elliott, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, John Orrock, Phil Robertson, Sasha Reed, Sonia Altizer, Steven Allison, Terry McGlynn
Awards Committee
List of this year’s members.
Forrest Shreve Awards
The Forrest Shreve Student Research Fund
An award given to support research in the hot deserts of North America: Sonoran, Mojave, Chihuahuan, and Vizcaino. Projects considered are ecological and increase our understanding of the patterns and processes of deserts and/or desert organisms. Proposals are ranked based on the importance of the project toward understanding desert ecology, feasibility, experimental design and innovation.
- $1,000-2,000
- Awarded Annually
For more information on the Forest Shreve Student Research Fund, click here.
Past Recipients
Recent recipients include: Benjy Sedano-Herrera, Sadie Roth, Christopher T. Cosma, Edauri Navarro-Pérez,
Awards Committee
List of this year’s members.
Chapter and Section Awards