American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is currently accepting applications for its Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science 2026. Interested applicants are encouraged to click here to learn more about this opportunity and apply for it.
About AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science
The AAAS Early Career Award honors early-stage professionals in STEM who excel in public engagement with science. It recognizes individuals who go beyond research to connect science with society through communication, outreach, and dialogue.This award highlights the importance of science communication, public trust, and societal impact in modern research careers.
Benefits of AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science
- The recipient receives a monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque, and recognition at the AAAS Annual Meeting.
AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science Requirements
- Nominations may be made by individuals, universities, government agencies, media, research organizations, and AAAS affiliate organizations. One nominator can nominate multiple candidates.
- Self-nominations are permitted.
- Prior nomination or being a named finalist does not exclude a candidate from consideration in subsequent years. Re-nomination is encouraged.
- Nominees must be an individual scientist, mathematician, or engineer. Groups or institutions will not be considered for this award. One candidate will be chosen to receive the award each year.
- AAAS employees are ineligible.
- Nominee must represent a field of science, technology, engineering and/or math (STEM) and be actively conducting research in any scientific discipline (including social sciences, mathematics, engineering and medicine). They may be based in academia, government or industry. Public engagement activities must be above and beyond job responsibilities.
- Candidate must be “early career” which is defined as an individual who has completed their terminal degree within seven years of the deadline for nominations.
- Nominees no longer considered "early career" as defined by this award may be eligible for the AAAS Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science.
- Current students are not eligible.
Application Date and Process
All nominations must be submitted electronically through our nomination site. If you require an alternate format, please contact [email protected]. Nominations and supporting materials will not be accepted by email or by post.
Nominations and materials must be in English.
You will be asked to provide:
- Name, email, position, institution, and phone number of the nominee
- Name, email, position, institution, and phone number of the nominator (if not a self-nomination)
- A brief citation (25 - 30 words) describing the accomplishment(s) for which the individual is nominated.
- Nomination rationale of the public engagement activities that form the basis for the nomination. PDF only.
- This statement of three pages maximum should discuss the nominee’s approach to public engagement. It should emphasize the candidate’s public engagement goal(s), intended audience(s), and message(s), as well as the level and type of dialogue achieved with their audiences, evaluation of public engagement work, and examples of how public engagement has affected the nominee’s scientific work.
- More information about AAAS’s approach to public engagement is available in the Communication Toolkit.
- The nominee’s curriculum vitae. PDF only.
- Limit CV to five pages, with a specific section highlighting public engagement activities distinct from work that is required as part of the nominee’s job. If the CV is longer than five pages, only the first five pages will be considered.
- At least two (up to five) representative material samples or other documentation which illustrate or describe the candidate’s public engagement contributions
- Samples should exhibit the activities discussed in the statement and further contribute to the narrative of the nomination, showing different representations of the breadth of their public engagement.
- Letters of support (up to two) are optional and count toward the five sample/document limit. Letters should provide more insight into the candidate's public engagement and discuss their accomplishments and can be written by a colleague, supervisor, or participant.
- If the candidate uses social media for their public engagement there will be a space to include all relevant accounts.
All materials submitted become the property of AAAS.
Application Deadline
30 June, 2026
Opportunity Application
View details of
AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science
Apply for AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science
🔍
