Unit-Level Awards

Award Categories

Travel Awards | Child Care/Disability Grants | Research Awards | Mentoring Awards | Distinguished Service Awards


Travel Grants

Braslau Family Travel Grant Fund

The Braslau Family Travel Grant provides support for degree-seeking students and early career physicists to attend an APS March or April Meeting.

DAMOP Student Participation Awards

DAMOP provides a limited number of awards up to $600 to support participation in the annual meeting. Priority is given to students who have submitted abstracts to the DAMOP meeting and who have not received support for previous DAMOP meetings.

DAP Student Travel Awards

The Division of Astrophysics (DAP) will offer travel grants to support the attendance of graduate students, advanced undergraduate students, and postdocs at this meeting.

DBIO Travel Awards

To qualify for this award, the student must be the first author of contributed papers (talks or posters) in sessions sponsored by the Division of Biological Physics at the March Meeting.

The DBIO Travel Award program welcomes applications from DBIO members at all early career stages, including undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members. 

DCOMP Travel Awards

The Division of Computational Physics (DCOMP) Travel Award program was established to support the professional development of student and postdoctoral researchers. Students and postdocs who are presenting a talk in a DCOMP-sponsored or co-sponsored session at the APS March or April Meeting are invited to apply for a DCOMP Travel Award.

DCP New Investigator Travel Awards

APS Division of Chemical Physics (DCP) New Investigator Travel Awards of up to $500 are available for graduate students and for post-doctoral researchers within two years of receiving their PhD to present a paper at a DCP-sponsored symposium at the APS March Meeting.

DCMP Graduate Student Travel Awards

The Division of Condensed Matter Physics (DCMP) Graduate Student Travel Awards have been established to assist the professional development and careers of graduate student researchers.

DGRAV Student Travel Grants

These grants from the Division of Gravitational Physics (DGRAV) provide needed travel support to allow DGRAV student members to present their work at the APS April Meeting.

Distinguished Student Program - Ukraine

This award supports physics graduate students and early career physicists who had been pursuing degrees or research in Ukraine by providing travel support to present talks or posters at APS meetings, APS-endorsed meetings, or International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP)-sponsored conferences. Participation in virtual meetings is also eligible for support.

DLS Student Travel Grants

Through this program, the Division of Laser Science (DLS) provides grants of up to $1000 for travel expenses for a limited number of graduate or undergraduate students to attend and participate in person at CLEO, the APS March meeting, or Frontiers in Optics/Laser Science (FiO+LS).

DMP Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards

The Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards have been established to assist the career of student researchers. The awards are named after Stanford and Iris Ovshinsky, who had a very strong interest and commitment to scientific education.

DMP Physics Post-Doctoral Travel Awards

The DMP Post-Doctoral Travel Awards have been established to recognize innovative materials physics research by Post-Doctoral researchers that will be presented at the APS March Meeting. The Awards are supported through the Division of Materials Physics (DMP).

DNP Travel Grants

The Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) is pleased to offer a limited number of travel grants to encourage graduate student participation in the APS April Meeting, an excellent opportunity for graduate students in nuclear physics to present their research, interact with potential employers, and hear about advances in a broad range of physics topics.

DPF Student Travel Award

The Division of Particles and Fields (DPF) will provide partial support for a limited number of students to attend the APS April Meeting.

DPOLY Chang Yeol Ryu Travel Fund

The Division of Polymer Physics (DPOLY) offers the Chang Yeol Ryu Travel Fund to support travel of 2 students attending the APS March Meeting for the first time and presenting their research.

DPOLY Undergraduate Travel Award

The Division of Polymer Physics (DPOLY) has established an Undergraduate Travel Award to provide funding for undergraduate students doing research in the area of polymer physics.

DPP Student Participation Grant

The American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics (APS DPP) is offering a limited number of student travel grants to enable DPP student participation at the division's in-person meeting.

DSOFT Travel Grants

The Division of Soft Matter (DSOFT) will award up to ten travel grants to applicants who are PhD students at the time of the APS March Meeting.

FDI Disability Travel Supplement

The Forum on Diversity and Inclusion (FDI) is offering supplemental funds to enable individuals with disabilities to participate in the APS March and April meetings.

FGSA Travel Award for Excellence in Graduate Research

The Forum on Graduate Students (FGSA) Award recognizes graduate students who have made noteworthy progress in their academic careers. This includes both those who demonstrate great potential as well as those with considerable accomplishments in their field. This award covers conference registration fees with some travel for the APS April Meeting.

FGSA Underrepresented Minority Student Awards

The FGSA Underrepresented Minority (URM) Student Awards seek to address inequities and unique challenges often faced by underrepresented students in physics. The goal of the award is to support students while improving the attendee representation at APS conferences.

FHPP Student Travel Awards

The Forum on the History of Physics (FHPP) of the American Physical Society is pleased to offer a limited number of travel grants to encourage undergraduate and graduate student participation in APS meetings. These meetings provide excellent opportunities for students to present their research and interact with other historians of physics.

FIP Distinguished Student Program

The Forum on International Physics (FIP) and APS established the DS Program to provide outstanding Non-US students with financial support to participate in the APS Meetings to overcome these difficulties.

FOEP Travel Award

The American Physical Society (APS) Forum on Outreach and Engaging the Public, or FOEP, recognizes that graduate students are some of our best science communicators.

Future of Physics Days Travel Grants

Future of Physics Days (FPD) meeting grants are for undergraduate students who are presenting research at the Undergraduate Research Sessions during the APS March and April meetings.

GERA Student Travel Funds to Attend Energy Research Workshop

The GERA Energy Research Workshop, held in conjunction with the APS March Meeting, is intended to familiarize graduate students and early-career scientists with the opportunities, challenges, and basic landscape of current energy research. Limited travel funding is provided for those selected to cover transportation, lodging, and meals.

GFB Travel Grants

The APS Topical Group on Few-Body Systems and Multi-Particle Dynamics (GFB) sponsors travel awards for young researchers.

GHP Student Travel Grants

The Topical Group on Hadronic Physics (GHP) provides a limited number of travel awards, including complimentary registration, to encourage graduate students to participate in the biennial GHP meetings, held in odd years in conjunction with the APS April meeting.

GIMS Student Travel Grants

The Topical Group on Instrument and Measurement Science (GIMS) is able to provide a limited number of travel grants for students or postdocs who are attending the March Meeting to present a paper in one of the GIMS sponsored sessions.

GMAG Student Travel Award

To increase student participation and involvement in activities essential to the Topical Group of Magnetism and Its Applications (GMAG) and the APS as a whole, GMAG will sponsor up to ten Student Travel Awards for the APS March Meeting.

GMED Student Travel Award

To increase student involvement in activities essential to the Topical Group on Medical Physics (GMED) and the APS as a whole, GMED will sponsor up to three Student Travel Awards for in-person attendance at the yearly APS March or April Meeting.

GPER Mini-Grants

The American Physical Society Physics Education Research Topical Group (GPER) is committed to supporting APS members who advance and enrich research in physics education. The Mini-Grants are divided into two strands – Conference Support for the Physics Education Community (Strand 1) and Personal Support (Strand 2). Historically, the GPER Mini-Grants have provided travel support for physics education researchers. Additionally, we’re continuing a special second strand for personal support, in response to the multiple crises that present numerous personal, professional, and educational challenges.

GPER Conference Organizer Grants

The Topical Group on Physics Education Research (GPER) is pleased to provide Conference Organizer Grants to support successful organization of PER-focused conferences, and the development of early-career PER researchers at such conferences. These may be used to support for graduate student and early career attendees, provide speaker travel and/or honoraria, or used for workshop materials and stipends

GSNP Student Speaker Award

Each year the Topical Group on Statistical and Nonlinear Physics (GSNP) offers a Student Speaker Award for best-contributed talk at the March meeting by a graduate student in the area of Statistical and Nonlinear Physics.

International Research Travel Award Program

Following the initiative of the APS Forum on International Physics (FIP), the sponsors of the APS International Research Travel Award Program (IRTAP) recognize that funding for collaborations between developed and developing country scientists is often insufficient to meet existing needs and opportunities.

International Research Travel Award Program - Ukraine

Through the APS International Research Travel Award Program - Ukraine, physicists impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine can receive travel support to visit research collaborators outside their home country to continue their research and maintain their connections and contributions to the global physics community. Virtual research collaboration is also eligible for support.

NES Student Travel Awards

The New England Section (NES) strongly encourages the active participation of students (undergraduates and graduates) in its meetings. Student presenters (first authors) may be reimbursed for meeting costs through student travel awards.

NYSS Student Support

The New York State Section (NYSS) makes awards to students to help defray travel and accommodation expenses and attendance at the symposium banquet.

NWS Student Travel Award

To enable undergraduate students to participate in the Annual Meeting, the Northwest Section (NWS) offers a limited number of travel awards each year.

SESAPS Student Travel Grants

Travel support will be available this year for students in the geographical region encompassed by the South Eastern Section of the American Physical Society (SESAPS) who are also members of SESAPS.

TSAPS Student Travel Awards

The Steven Weinberg Research Award, of the Texas Section of the American Physical Society (TSAPS), will be presented each year for research that was done by a graduate student.


Child Care/Disability Grants

DAMOP Caregiver Grant

DAMOP is pleased to announce that small grants of up to $500 are available for DAMOP meeting attendees who incur extra expenses for child or elder care during the meeting.

DCMP March Meeting Caregiver Awards

DCMP recognizes that caregiving responsibilities can pose challenges to attending the APS March Meeting. Awards of up to $800 are available for DCMP meeting attendees who incur extra caregiver expenses during the meeting.

DCP Child Care Grants

APS Division of Chemical Physics (DCP) Child Care Awards of up to $500 are available for DCP members attending APS national meetings. Awards may be used by recipients for dependent care at the meeting or at an alternative location (including at home), including expenses incurred in transporting a caregiver.

DFD Child Care and Disability Travel Assistance

Subject to availability of funds, the Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) is offering grants to support childcare costs and/or assistance for those with disabilities so attendees can participate in the Annual DFD virtual meeting and/or breakout events without interruptions.

DLS Caregiver and Access Grants

Grants of up to $1000 are available to assist Division of Laser Science (DLS) members who are participating (in-person or virtually) in the APS March meeting, CLEO or FiO+LS who incur extra caregiver expenses to be able to participate in these conferences. Access grants of up to $1000 are available to provide assistance to enable those with disabilities to travel to the conferences.

DPF Caregiver Grants

We are pleased to announce that the Division of Particles and Fields (DPF) will provide support for caregiving expenses to a limited number of DPF members who will speak in the April Meeting (either in-person or virtual).

DPP Families and Meeting Accessibility Grant

Grants will be available to enable Division of Plasma Physics (DPP) registrants to participate in the hybrid APS-DPP meeting (i.e., extra daycare or caregiver services), or who need to fund additional activities or services to address accessibility issues.


Research Awards

DBIO Early Career Award for Biological Physics Research

The Division of Biological Physics (DBIO) presents this award annually to recognize outstanding and sustained contributions by an early-career researcher to biological physics.

DFD François Frenkiel Award for Fluid Mechanics

The Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) awards The François Frenkiel Award to young investigators in recognition of significant contributions to Fluid Mechanics that have also been published during the previous year in Physical Review Fluids. Eligible authors must have not more than 12 years of full-time employment after their most advanced academic degree was awarded, prior to the paper’s year of publication.

DLS CLEO Student Poster Awards

Undergraduate and graduate students who present at the CLEO conference are invited to participate in a poster competition sponsored by the Division of Laser Science to recognize excellence in research by student members. Three best-poster awards are given, along with honorable mentions.

DPF Instrumentation Award

The Division of Particles and Fields (DPF) Instrumentation Award is bestowed annually to honor exceptional contributions to instrumentation advancing the field of particle physics through the invention, refinement, or application of instrumentation and detectors.

DPF Early Career Instrumentation Award

The Division of Particles and Fields (DPF) Instrumentation Early Career Award  is bestowed annually to honor exceptional contributions to instrumentation advancing the field of particle physics through the invention, refinement, or application of instrumentation and detectors.

DPP Katherine E. Weimer Award for Women in Plasma Science

The American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics (DPP) Executive Committee established the Katherine E. Weimer award to "recognize and encourage outstanding achievement in plasma science research by a woman physicist in the early years of her career."

DPP Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Awards

As part of the Division of Plasma Physics (DPP) conference, a panel of DPP member judges attend student poster presentations and award the top presentations with Outstanding Poster Awards at the annual Student Appreciation Reception.

DSOFT Student Poster Awards

The Division of Soft Matter sponsors March Meeting Poster Prizes for students who present exemplary posters at the APS March Meeting.

DQI Best Student Paper Award

The Division of Quantum Information (DQI) awards a "Best Student Paper" award at the APS March Meeting.

DPOLY Student and Postdoc Poster Awards

The Division of Polymer Physics (DPOLY) annually recognizes three students among DPOLY’s graduate and postdoctoral poster presenters.

FHPP History of Physics Essay Contest

The Forum for History of Physics (FHPP) of the American Physical Society is proud to establish an annual History of Physics Essay Contest. The contest is designed to promote interest in the history of physics among those not, or not yet, professionally engaged in the subject.

GSCCM Student and Dissertation Research Award

The GSCCM Student and Dissertation Research Award will be given to recognize outstanding work by a researcher within two years of PhD completion. The recipient will be recognized at the SCCM conference and will give an invited presentation on their work.

GMAG Student Dissertation Award

In order to encourage students working in magnetism, every year the Topical Group on Magnetism and Its Applications (GMAG) sponsors Outstanding Dissertation in Magnetism Awards. GMAG will present up to three dissertation awards at the next APS March Meeting.

GMED Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in Medical Physics Awards

To encourage activity and excellence in medical physics research, the Topical Group on Medical Physics (GMED) awards up to two Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in Medical Physics Awards on an annual basis. These awards will be presented at the APS March or April Meeting, and recognize students who have conducted outstanding dissertation research.

GPC Student and Early Career Investigator Prizes

The GPC Student Prize will be given to a graduate student member of the APS who is pursuing work related to the GPC mission.The GPC Early Career Investigator Award will be given to an early career investigator who is a member of the APS GPC.

GSNP Postdoctoral Speaker Award

The Topical Group on Statistical and Nonlinear Physics (GSNP) Postdoctoral Speaker Award seeks to recognize the best contributed talk at the APS March Meeting by a postdoctoral researcher in the area of Statistical and Nonlinear Physics.

GSNP Student Speaker Award

Each year the Topical Group on Statistical and Nonlinear Physics (GSNP) offers a Student Speaker Award for best-contributed talk at the March meeting by a graduate student in the area of Statistical and Nonlinear Physics.

FWS Research Awards

The Far West Section (FWS) Research Awards are presented each year to scientists and students from California, Nevada & Hawaii for the outstanding work performed by their recipients, and the groups and institutions they work with.

4CS Harry Lustig Award

The purpose of this award from the Four Corners Section (4CS) is to honor Harry Lustig and to recognize outstanding graduate-level research performed in the Four Corners states. The award, given annually, consists of a stipend and a certificate citing the contribution made by the recipient.

EGLS Doc Brown Young Investigator Award

The Eastern Great Lakes Section (EGLS) offers the Doc Brown Young Investigator Award, bestowed once yearly at the spring meeting to young faculty.

EGLS Doc Brown Graduate Student Research Poster Award

The Eastern Great Lakes Section (EGLS) Graduate Student Outstanding Poster Award is given to undergraduate research poster presenters. One student is considered for the award during the poster sessions at each of the Fall and Spring meetings.

EGLS Doc Brown Undergraduate Research Poster Award

The Eastern Great Lakes Section (EGLS) Undergraduate Student Outstanding Poster Award is given to undergraduate research poster presenters. One student is considered for the award during the poster sessions at each of the Fall and Spring meetings.

EGLS William Fowler Award

The William Fowler Award for Distinguished Research in Physics is to honor those members of the Society with appreciable connections to the State of Ohio at some time in their life, who have done outstanding research in physics.

SESAPS Jesse W. Beams Award

The Jesse W. Beams Research Award, first presented in 1973, was established by the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society (SESAPS) to recognize especially significant or meritorious research in physics, the major portion of which was carried out while the recipient was resident in the ten-state region of the Southeast.

TSAPS Robert S. Hyer Research Award

The Robert S. Hyer Research Award, of the Texas Section of the American Physical Society, will be presented each year to a recipient who must have been an undergraduate student when the research was performed. The only criterion is excellence, including potential impact in the relevant scientific community.

TSAPS Student Presentation Awards

For several years the Texas Section of the American Physical Society (TSAPS) has sponsored awards for outstanding presentations by both undergraduate and graduate students. The awards can be for presentation in a regular APS oral session or an APS poster session.


Mentoring Awards

DNP Mentoring Award

This award from the Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) is intended to recognize Division of Nuclear Physics members who have had an exceptional impact as mentors of nuclear scientists and students. This mentoring could be through teaching or research or science-related activities.

DPF Mentoring Award

The Division of Particles and Fields (DPF) of the American Physical Society has established an award to honor exceptional mentoring, broadly defined, to be bestowed annually. This APS Unit Award is intended to recognize DPF members who have had an exceptional impact as mentors of particle physics scientists and students.


Distinguished Service Awards

DNP Distinguished Service Award

This award from the Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) is intended to recognize those who have made substantial and extensive contributions to the nuclear physics community through the activities of the DNP.

EGLS Howard Maxwell Award

The Howard Maxwell Award for Distinguished Service to the Eastern Great Lakes Section (EGLS) of the American Physical Society is presented to those members of the Section who have rendered outstanding service to the Section.

SESAPS Francis Slack Award

The Francis G. Slack Award was created by the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society (SESAPS) to honor Excellence in Service to Physics in the Southeast.

SESAPS George B. Pegram Award

The George B. Pegram Award, first awarded in 1971, was created by the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society (SESAPS) to honor “Excellence in Physics Education in the Southeast.”

TSAPS Distinguished Service Award

This award is to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions over several years to the Texas Section of the APS (TSAPS. Recipients of this award will become members of a committee to aid and advise the Texas section’s executive committee particularly in retaining a historical perspective on the section’s activities. Service on the committee will include a four-year active term and lifetime honorary membership.

Nominees for and holders of APS Honors (prizes, awards, and fellowship) and official leadership positions are expected to meet standards of professional conduct and integrity as described in the APS Ethics Guidelines. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.