Each year, the Chair of the EMD Honors and Awards Committee (Jack Pashin), selects candidates for the EMD honors and awards. The Chair, in cooperation with the the Advisory Committee, then select those individuals who, in the Committee's collective opinions, are deemed to be the most deserving of such honors and awards.
Service Awards
Honorary Membership
Honorary Membership was initiated by the Division in 1998 and is bestowed upon Division members who have distinguished themselves by their service to the Division and devotion to the sciences involved with energy minerals geology. By EMD Leadership Council action, this honor has been declared the Divisions’ highest award. The award is a walnut plaque with the EMD medallion engraved plate bearing the recipients’ name, the citation, and date. Honorary EMD members do not pay EMD dues, but must continue to pay AAPG dues.
Distinguished Service Award
The Distinguished Service Award was initiated by the Division in 1990 to recognize a member’s continuous, outstanding, exceptional, meritorious service to the Division. The award is a walnut plaque with the EMD medallion, engraved certificate bearing the recipients name, the citation, and date. This award is considered to be the second highest service award within EMD.
Distinguished Contributors Award
The Distinguished Contributors Award was initiated in 1994 to recognize outstanding, exceptional, meritorious service to the Division by a member of the AAPG Headquarters Staff. Recipients need not be an EMD member, but must be a member of the AAPG Headquarters staff. This award is presented irregularly.
Past President's Award
The Past President’s Award was initiated by the Division in 1990 to recognize a year of dedicated, energetic service to the Division by its past presidents. The award is an acrylic award bearing the recipients name, the citation, and date of service. In 2001 the award was presented to all EMD presidents who served before the 1988-1989-service year. This award is not open to nominations from the EMD membership.
Certificate of Merit
The Certificate of Merit is a certificate presented to persons contributing to the overall success of the Divisions’ activities by their service at national or international annual or biennial meetings of the Division, by outstanding service on committees, or through other significant forms of service to the Division (such as at AAPG Section Meetings). This award recognizes recent or cumulative outstanding contributions, such as serving as a member of the local EMD planning committee for an annual meeting.
Presentation Awards
Frank Kottlowski Memorial Award
The Frank Kottlowski Memorial Award (formerly known as the “Best Paper Award”) is presented to the author(s) of an oral presentation that is judged to be the "best oral paper" in any EMD-sponsored technical session at an AAPG annual meeting. The award for the senior author consists of an agate desk set, consisting of an agate base with a metal pen and pencil set attached and bearing the recipients' name, the date, and "Frank Kottlowski Memorial Award". A signed certificate is also presented, which includes the title and senior author of the Best Paper. Co-authors receive copies of the certificate, but not the desk set. This award is not open to nominations from the EMD membership.
The Frank Kottlowski Memorial Award, the Best Poster Award, and President’s Certificates for Excellence of Presentation are presented to the recipients at the annual luncheon and awards program in the year following the EMD meeting at which the winning papers were presented.
President's Certificate for Excellence in Presentation
A President’s Certificate for Excellence in Presentation may be presented to the author(s) of a runner-up oral or poster paper. Certificates can be awarded for up to three each poster and oral presentations per annual meeting. The award is a signed certificate and plaque bearing the author’s name and title of the paper and the date or meeting at which it was presented. This type of award is at the sitting EMD President’s discretion as to how many awards will be given per year, based on recommendations from the EMD Awards Chair for a given Annual Meeting. This award is not open to nominations from the EMD membership.
The Loyd Carlson Memorial Best Poster Award
A Best Poster Award is awarded to the author(s) of the best poster presentation in any EMD-sponsored session at an AAPG annual meeting. It is an 8X10 wood plaque embossed bearing the author’s name and title of the poster and the date or meeting at which it was presented. This award is not open to nominations from the EMD membership.
Closed Awards
Distinguished Founder’s Award
The Distinguished Founder’s Award was established by the Division in 1978. Not to be confused with EMD Founder, which is an honor with a certificate identifying members who joined EMD by July 1, 1978. The Distinguished Founder’s Award is reserved for members who played a significant role in the AAPG Economics Committee or its successor, the AAPG Energy Minerals Committee, and thus contributed greatly to the formation of the EMD. The award is a walnut plaque with a mounted certificate bearing the recipients name and a signed citation. The Distinguished Founder’s Award has effectively been retired due to completion of giving awards to all living, eligible members.
EMD Founder, an honor with a certificate identifying members who joined EMD in the division’s first year between July 1, 1977 and July 1, 1978.
Section Awards
Gordon H. Wood, Jr. Memorial Award
Gordon H. Wood, Jr. Memorial Award was established in 1989 and is presented in recognition of outstanding contributions to the geology of coal and other energy minerals, and the goals of the AAPG’s Energy Minerals Division in the Eastern Section. The decision to present this award is in the purview of the Eastern Section Honors and Awards Committee.