ASGSR Awards

The distinction of Fellow is awarded by the ASGSR in recognition of distinguished scientific and social contributions to the advancement of gravitational and space research in the fields of life and physical sciences in areas of research, education, mentoring, outreach, and professional and public service.  Awardees may be from academia, industry, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.

Eligibility for the award requires that the Nominee must have demonstrable contributions of high achievement and significance by:

  1. Advancement of gravitational and space science through (one or more):
    • research in life sciences, medicine, and physical sciences (academic and industry)
    • engineering of enabling technologies and hardware capabilities for ground- and flight-based research
    • development and provision of vehicles, platforms, and facilities to enable any flight-based research
    • payload development and implementation services to conduct flight-based research on any platform
    • education, outreach, advocacy (government, public, and commercial), teaching, and mentoring
  2. Minimum of 5-years of service to the society while furthering the goals of ASGSR (number of years of membership alone is not a criterion for eligibility).  Former members are eligible for the award and posthumous award nominations are accepted.

2023 Fellows

2022 Fellows

2021 Fellows

2020 Fellows

2019 Fellows

2024 Art Competition Winners

This award is the highest honor given by the Society. It is made to a member of the Society for distinguished scientific contributions to and leadership in the field of gravitational research.
1989 Orr Reynolds
1990 Nello Pace / Allan Brown
1991 Bob Krauss / Milt Smith
1992 Thora Halstead
1993 Abe Krikorian
1994 Frank Salisbury  and Don Whedon
1996 Emily Holton and Andreas Sievers
1997 X. J. Musacchia
1998 Jack E. Myers
1999 Gerald Sonnenfeld
2000 Charles Wunder
2001 Michael Evans
2002 Kenneth Souza
2003 William M. Knott
2004 Terri Lomax
2005 Stan Roux
2006 Charles Tipton
2007 Cary Mitchell
2008 Danny Riley
2009 Karl Hasenstein
2010 Paul Todd
2011 Chuck Fuller
2012 Ray Wheeler
2013 Issam Mudawar
2014 Keith Chapes
2015 Millie Hughes-Fulford
2016 Fred Kohl and Rob Ferl
2017 John Z. Kiss
2018 Howard Levine
2019 Simon Gilroy
2020 Joseph Tash
2021 Anna-Lisa Paul and Alan R. Hargens
2022 Ching-Hua Su
2023 Susan A. Bloomfield
This award is made to an individual for distinguished service to the Society “above and beyond the call of duty.” The award is made in honor and memory of the late Dr. Orr Reynolds, one of the founding charter members of the Society.

Rob Ferl

1990

Don Beem

1992

Marc Tischler

1993

Pat Russell

1994

Ron Dutcher / Janet Powers

1995

Peter Kaufman

1997

Stanley J. Roux

1998

Mary E. Musgrave

1999

Kenneth A. Souza

2000

Jackie Duke

2001

Timothy Mulkey

2002

Bob Phillips

2003

Thomas Dreschel

2004

Gerald Sonnenfeld

2005

Christopher Brown

2006

Cary Mitchell

2007

Tom K. Scott

2008

Paul Todd

2009

David Chapman

2010

John Z. Kiss

2011

Tim Mulkey and Janet Powers

2012

Anna Lisa-Paul

2013

Jack Van Loon

2014

Louis Stodieck

2015

Cynthia Martin-Brennan

2016

Kevin Sato

2017

Michael Pecaut

2018

Sandra Graham

2019

Samantha McBride

2020

Jamie Foster

2021

Gale Allen

2022

Rob Ferl

2023

Stefanie Countryman

The President’s Award is given by the Society to the outgoing president of the Society to honor the contributions of the individual to Society.
1985 Allan Brown
1986 Orr Reynolds (1989)
1987 Thora Halstead
1988 Abe Krikorian
1989 Carl Leopold
1990 Joe Musacchia
1991 Marc Tischler
1992 Bob Phillips
1993 Cary Mitchell
1994 Emily Holton
1995 Stan Roux
1996 Jackie Duke
1997 Mary Musgrave
1998 Gerald Sonnenfeld
1999 Norman G. Lewis
2000 Jay Buckey
2001 Stephen B. Doty
2002 Marian L. Lewis
2003 Charles E. Fuller
2004 John Kiss
2005 Chris Brown
2006 Paul Todd
2007 Kenneth Souza
2008 Danny Riley
2009 Jeff Alberts
2010 Terri Lomax
2011 Marshall Porterfield
2012 Howard Levine
2013 Joseph Tash
2014 Simon Gilroy
2015 Robert Ferl
2016 April Ronca
2017 David Urban
2018 Anna-Lisa Paul
2019 Kevin Sato
2020 Douglas Matson
2021 Jamie Foster
2022 Steven Collicott
2023 Elizabeth Blaber
This award was established in 1994 to honor a early career scientist who exemplifies Thora’s drive and enthusiasm for science, and who has made significant contributions to the field of gravitational and space research. The award is dedicated to Dr. Thora Halstead in recognition of the years she spent encouraging young scientists to enter gravitational and space research. The award includes a cash prize of $1,000 generously donated by the Halstead family.
1994 Jay Buckey
1995 Mary Musgrave
1996 John Kiss
1997 Edwin S. Miller
1998 Simon Gilroy
1999 Gloria K. Muday
2000 Volker D. Kern
2001 Brenda Klement
2002 Markus Braun
2003 David Klaus
2004 April Ronca
2005 Elison Blancaflor
2006 Marshall Porterfield
2007 Ted A. Bateman
2009 Michael Pecaut
2010 Melanie Correll
2011 Gioia Massa
2012 Amani Wan Salim
2013 Stephane Blanc
2014 Jennifer Barrila
2015 Joshua Alwood
2016 Peter Lee
2017 Elizabeth Blaber
2018 Luis Zea
2019 Richard J. Barker
2020 Joshua P. Vandenbrink and Andrea M. Henle
2021 Candice Tahimic and Yu-Chien (Alice) Chien
2022 Matt Romeyn and Ana Diaz Artiles
2023 Alvaro Romero-Calvo

ASGSR Inspiration Scholarship: Laurence Davin and Norman Lewis Prize

The ASGSR Inspiration Scholarship: Laurence Davin and Norman Lewis Prize is designed to help inspire and motivate deserving students who, through financial or cultural circumstances, may not have considered that they can become the space life scientists of the future.

  • Two $1000 scholarships will be awarded per year
  • Scholarships will be awarded to juniors or seniors attending high school in the U.S. or a U.S. territory who have an interest in scientific and technical fields with the purpose of encouraging and stimulating them to become part of the next generation of Life Scientists in space research.
  • Students who apply must meet the following criteria:
    • families facing some financial hardship and/or cultural challenges
    • those needing inspiration and incentive to pursue an education in space life sciences
  • Students may use the scholarship funds to defray college/university costs or to fund a science project or a combination of the two.
  • Students will apply online. Go to asgsr.org/inspiration for more information.
  • At least one letter of recommendation from a teacher is required. A second letter is optional.
  • A high school transcript much be included with the application.
  • Nominations will be reviewed and scored by a committee. Finalists will be announced on at the annual ASGSR meeting.

2021 Winners

María Muñoz & Jacob Rivera

2020 Winners

Joseph Ogunbadewa & Christina Vo

2023 Winners

Leonardo Ravelo & Eha Agrawal

Axiom Space announces Axiom STARS: Axiom Science Technology Art and Research in Space Scholarship


Learn more here: https://www.axiomspace.com/news/axiom-space-announces-stars-scholarship

Axiom Space is building the first-ever commercial space station, which will launch into Low Earth Orbit in 2024 and serve as a state-of-the-art orbital laboratory for conducting research, manufacturing products, and capturing Earth observation data.

This makes us wonder how the space-based platforms like Axiom Station will change our lives.

Why space? Because there is no place on Earth where prolonged exposure to weightlessness is possible. This can occur only in space, in a fast-moving spacecraft in freefall. On Earth, all organisms are under the influence of gravity for their entire lives. But, when the effect of gravity is eliminated, behavior of biological systems is altered at even the most fundamental level, the gene, in all living organisms (for example animals, plants, yeast, bacteria, viruses).

How will you use the microgravity platform to understand biology or cure disease?

When you take gravity out of the equation, the physical properties of materials change. While on Earth, objects fall to the ground or heavier materials sink to the bottom of a container due to gravity. But, in a weightless environment, materials mix more evenly.

What new material will you create or discover as a result of lack of gravity?

How will the weightless environment inspire you to re-design everyday things you might take for granted on Earth (like a coffee cup, a hot shower, a washing machine, or oven-baked cookies)?

What will you discover in the unique space environment?

What inventions will those discoveries lead to?

Axiom Space is supporting ASGSR in its mission to encourage exchange of ideas by bringing together a diverse group of individuals to translate basic research into applied technologies for space. All this so that we can build a thriving home for humanity in space.

Anyone is welcome to submit an entrepreneurial idea. However, to be eligible to receive the scholarship prize, you must confirm:

  • You are at least 18 years of age and an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in a degree program in November 2021.
  • Your proposal is original. You developed the concept and authored the proposal.
  • You are a citizen of the world (US citizenship is not a requirement).
  • You are Visionary. Imaginative. Passionate.

2021 Winners

The Microgravity Printed Circuit Board Iyngkarran Kumar
The Extreme Biominers Arunava Poddar
The Extreme Biominers Anurup Mohanty
The Extreme Biominers Kashish Gupta
The Extreme Biominers Navaneel Sarangi
RADISH Paulina Umansky
RADISH Alberto Meunier
RADISH Angel Vasquez
The Tom K. Scott Student Scholarship is an award made by ASGSR in honor of Dr. Tom K. Scott and is made annually to a student attending the ASGSR meeting with excellent academic and/or professional achievements, and an outstanding potential for success in, and interest in the field of gravitational and space research. This award both recognizes students for their past accomplishments as well as encourages further excellence in the field.
2010 Elizabeth Blaber
2011 Christina Johnson
2012 Andre Edge
2013 Ashely Macner
2014 Ashley Cannon
2015 Natasha Sng
2016 Chitra Ajala
2019 Joe Adam
2020 Marta Cortesão
2021 Devin Mair
2022 Gbolaga Olanrewaju
2023 Annie Shelton