As part of its mission to encourage advances in Aroid research and horticulture, The International Aroid Society presents awards and research grants in small amounts, most on an irregular basis.

• The Dr. Monroe Birdsey Memorial Award

  This prestigious annual award is presented at the IAS show and sale held in Miami, Florida at The Fairchild Tropical Garden in September. The Award consists of a cash award of U.S.$1000, plus an engraved crystal token. Travel expenses to and from Miami, board and lodging may be provided by the IAS at the discretion of the board. If, in the opinion of the IAS governing board, a suitable candidate is not found, the award may be postponed until the following year.

  To be eligible to receive this award, a recipient should be actively engaged in some form of research into plants belonging to the family Araceae, and must provide documentation of this in the form of papers on aroids that are already published, or that are in the process of being written. All nominations will be considered by a panel of three to five professional botanists and their selection approved by the full board of the IAS.

  The recipient, to be announced in June, will be required to be present at the show and sale in Miami in September to receive the award. While in Miami the recipient shall give a presentation on any aspect of their research on Araceae, typically a 20-minute illustrated talk. Alternatively, the recipient may present to the editor of Aroideana the draft of a paper on Araceae to be published in that journal. If the nominee intends that a paper will be presented to the Editor of Aroideana INSTEAD of giving a presentation at the Miami IAS Show and Sale in September, a draft of this paper shall accompany his or her nomination in order that it may be reviewed BEFORE an awardee is chosen.

  All nominations should be clearly labeled "Nominations for the Dr. Monroe Birdsey Memorial Award" and e-mailed by April 15th of the year of intended award to the President of the IAS.

  Past recipients of the Birdsey Award include Jin Chen Hoe (2012), Melanie Medecilo (2008), Marcela Mora, Monica Carlsen and Dr. Eduardo Goncalves.

• The Bette Waterbury Award

  The Bette Waterbury Award is presented irregularly to persons who have made outstanding contributions in the field of Aroid Horticulture. Nominations for this award may be made by e-mail to the President of the IAS at any time and recipients shall be selected by the sitting board of the IAS at its sole discretion.

  Past recipients include Genevieve Ferry (2012), Frank Brown (2012), Dr. Josef Bogner and Lynn Hannon.

• The HW Schott Award

  The HW Schott Award is presented irregularly to researchers who have made significant lifetime contributions in the field of Aroid Research. Nominations for this award may be made by e-mail to the President of the IAS at any time and recipients shall be selected by the sitting board of the IAS at its sole discretion.

  Past recipients include Dr. Derek Burch (2009), Dr. Dan Nicolson and Dr. Thomas Croat.

• The Tricia Frank Award

  The Tricia Frank service award is presented irregularly to persons who have exhibited exemplary effort, contributions and dedication towards the operation of the International Aroid Society. Nominations for this award may be made by email to the president of the IAS at any time and recipients shall be selected by the sitting board of the IAS at its sole discretion.

  Past recipients include Albert Huntington(2016).

The IAS ordinarily does not provide grants, but may, on occasion, provide small research grants in amounts of approximately $1000 or less targeted toward persons performing research and fieldwork in developing countries.

• Applicant Qualifications

  The IAS prefers to fund researchers who have a track record of producing results. Preference will be given to grant applications made by persons with advanced degrees or those in advanced degree programs performing research at accredited institutions with a history of publishing peer-reviewed papers in the field of Aroid botany.

• Application Details

  The IAS needs to know who you are, what you plan to do, when, and how much it's going to cost. Applications for research grants should include a curriculum vitae of the researcher, a realistic timeline and budget, information on supervision of the research project and letters of recommendation from two globally recognized Aroid researchers. Applications may be submitted at any time.

• Funding Details

  The IAS may only partially fund your project, expects to receive progress reports, and may fund your project in stages depending on progress. Grants may be funded on a partial or ongoing basis and it is therefore vital to make clear what parts of the grant are separable in time. The IAS will require documentation of completion of the initial stages of a project before releasing funding for later stages. For example, a grant application that specifies both field work and lab work will be funded in two parts with the portion of the grant awarded for lab work liable to be held back until an article documenting the field work is submitted to the IAS Newsletter.

• Requirements

  The IAS expects formal credit for funding your project, and for you to publish at least part of the outcomes in its journal Aroideana or in the IAS Newsletter. Recipients of International Aroid Society grants will be expected to acknowledge the support of the IAS in any publicatons or presentations resulting from that research and to present to the editor of Aroideana the draft of a paper on Araceae to be published in that journal and/or an article for inclusion in the IAS newsletter should that venue be deemed more appropriate for the material.

• Restrictions

  The IAS expects you to use the grant frugally and wisely to support your research in the most cost effective way possible. International Aroid Society grants may not be used for indirect costs, overhead, fringe benefits, salaries and expenses not directly related to the approved project. Funds may not be used for travel to meetings or conferences, legal actions, land acquisition, endowments, acquisition of capital equipment, construction of permanent field stations, or publication of research results.

• Selection Process

  A panel of professional botanists will review your application, but your grant is solely at the discretion of the IAS board. Grant applications will be first considered by a review board composed of three to five professional botanists and then, if selected, considered by the full board of the IAS. Grant applications are accepted for funding or rejected on an ongoing basis, usually within two months of receipt of the application. The amount, restrictions and selection of IAS grants is at the SOLE and FINAL discretion of the board of the International Aroid Society without regard to the particular selection guidelines stated above.

  Applications may be mailed, with supporting materials, to The President of the IAS.