The Society presents six awards annually and one award every other year, along with multiple Wiley awards associated with the annual meeting. Society members may be elected as Fellows in even-numbered years.
The Leonard Medal
The Leonard Medal honors outstanding contributions to the science of meteoritics and closely allied fields. It was established in 1962 to honor the first President of the Society, Frederick C. Leonard.
Learn more: Leonard Medal Committee
Previous Awardees: Leonard Medalists
The Barringer Award
The Barringer Medal and Award recognize outstanding work in impact cratering and/or work that has led to a better understanding of impact phenomena. This honor was established in 1982 to honor the memory of D. Moreau Barringer Sr. and his son D. Moreau Barringer Jr. and is sponsored by the Barringer Crater Company. The senior Barringer was the first to seriously propose an impact origin for the crater that now bears his name. For nearly two decades he defended this theory against the vast majority of scientific opinion. The junior Barringer was the first to identify the Odessa crater, the second known impact site on Earth.
Learn more: Barringer Award Committee
Previous Awardees: Barringer Award Winners
The Nier Prize
The Nier Prize recognizes outstanding research in meteoritics and closely allied fields by young scientists. The recipient will be a scientist who has not reached age 35 at the end of the year in which he or she is selected, or whose doctorate was awarded no more than seven years before the year of selection. The award was established in 1995 to honor the memory of Alfred O. C. Nier, and is supported by an endowment given by Mrs. Ardis H. Nier.
Learn more: Leonard Medal Committee
Previous Awardees: Nier Prize Winners
The Service Award
The Service Award, established in 2005, honors members who have advanced the goals of the Society to promote research and education in meteoritics and planetary science in ways other than by conducting scientific research. Examples of activities that could be honored include, but are not limited to, education and public outreach, service to the Society and the broader scientific community, and acquisition, classification and curation of new samples for research. The award may be given annually, and should be given at least every other year. Winners will be granted lifetime membership in the Meteoritical Society.
Learn more: Membership Committee
Previous Awardees: Service Award Winners
The Elmar K. Jessberger Award
The Jessberger Award recognizes outstanding research in the field of isotope cosmochemistry by a female scientist in the middle of her career. The recipient will be a woman who has received her doctorate at least 10 years and not more than 20 years before the year she is selected by the Council. The award is presented every other year and comes with prize money of USD 1,500. The award was established in 2019 to honor the memory of Elmar K. Jessberger, and is supported by an endowment given by the Jessberger family.
Learn more: Jessberger Award Committee
Previous Awardees: Jessberger Award Winners
Fellows
Members who have distinguished themselves in meteoritics or in closely allied fields may be elected Fellows by the Council. No more than 1% of the members can be elected in even-numbered years.
Learn more: Leonard Medal Committee
Previous Awardees: List of Fellows
The Paul Pellas - Graham Ryder Award
The Pellas-Ryder Award, jointly sponsored by the Meteoritical Society and the Planetary Division of Geological Society of America, is for undergraduate and graduate students who are first author of a planetary science paper published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The award honors the memories of meteoriticist Paul Pellas and lunar scientist Graham Ryder. Any first author of a paper published on a topic listed on the cover of MAPS who was a student when the paper was submitted is eligible for consideration for the award.
Learn more: Pellas-Ryder Award Committee
Previous Awardees: Pellas-Ryder Award Winners
The Gordon A. McKay Award
The McKay Award honors the memory of Gordon A. McKay. It was endowed in 2008 thanks to the generous donations of the McKay family and many society members. The award is given each year to the student who gives the best oral presentation at the annual meeting of the society. The recipient must be a full-time student, a member of the society, and must not have won the McKay Award before.
Learn more: McKay Award Committee
Previous Awardees: McKay Award Winners
Wiley Awards
Since 2012, the Wiley Awards have been given to a few students each year for the top oral presentations at the annual meeting of the Meteoritical Society. The awards are sponsored by Wiley, the publisher of Meteoritics and Planetary Science. The McKay Award Committee has handled the duties of nominating winners as part of the same process used to determine the McKay Award winner.
Learn more: McKay Award Committee
Previous Awardees: Wiley Award Winners
Annual Meeting Travel Awards
Each year, the Meteoritical Society and its generous sponsors support member travel to the annual meeting through various endowment funds and external awards. Typically, at least ~$80,000 is available for travel support each year. In 2022, more than ~$107,000 was awarded to 87 members to support their travel to the annual meeting in Glasgow, Scotland.
Learn more: Descriptions and eligibility requirements of travel awards