Division of Gravitational Physics Fellowship
Fellowship in the American Physical Society is a great honor. In accordance with the APS Constitution, "there shall be elected to Fellowship only such Members who have contributed to the advancement of physics by independent, original research or who have rendered some other special service to the cause of the sciences." All APS members are invited to nominate deserving colleagues as potential Fellows of APS.
Rules and eligibility
Nominating a colleague for APS Fellowship is a way to commend them for excellence in physics and their service to the physics community.
To nominate a colleague for APS Fellowship, you and the additional nominating co-sponsor must be active APS members. The colleague you nominate must also be an active APS member.
Process and selection
To nominate a colleague for APS Fellowship, please include the following:
- The nominee's name
- The co-sponsor's name, and email address
- A 300 character suggested citation that does not include the nominee's name, gendered pronouns, or symbols, and begins with, "For..."
- A 2,500 character paragraph expanding on the citation to indicate the originality and significance of the contributions
- A PDF sponsor's recommendation letter
- The co-sponsor's recommendation letter, which must be uploaded by the co-sponsor
- The nominee's curriculum vitae (CV), which must include academic and employment history, professional honors, a list of principal publications only, and other significant contributions to physics
- Optional: Up to two additional PDF letters of support, which must be uploaded by the letter writers
Selection Committee
- Lydia Bieri
- Steve Liebling
- Theodore Jacobson
- Shane Larson
- Matthew Evans
Recent recipients
Brian T. Lantz
2025 recipient
For pioneering contributions to the design and implementation of seismic isolation systems for gravitational-wave detectors, enabling the sensitivity required for the first direct detections of gravitational waves.
Samuel E Gralla
2025 recipient
For outstanding and wide-ranging contributions to general relativity and relativistic astrophysics.
Anamaria Effler
2025 recipient
For key contributions to the performance of the LIGO gravitational wave detectors.
Emil Mottola
2024 recipient
For pioneering work on the behavior of field theories — especially in curved spacetime — including the proposal of gravastars and particle emissions in de Sitter spacetime.
Mark A. Scheel
2024 recipient
For major contributions to numerical relativity, including being a principal author of the Spectral Einstein Code (SpEC), applying SpEC to develop highly accurate surrogate gravitational waveform models, and leading the development of the Cauchy-Characteristic Extraction code.
APS Honors recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of the global physics community. Guided by our core values, APS Honors encourages nominations that reflect the full range of talent, distinction, and experience in our field, and supports broad canvassing for professional achievement across diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise.
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 Standards. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.
Division of Gravitational Physics Fellowship
Related
Prepare your nomination materials and review the submission process to recognize your colleagues and students.
Prepare your Fellowship nomination materials and review the submission process.
As approved by the Council of Representatives on April 10, 2025.
APS honors exceptional contributions to the physics community, including travel support for students and early career physicists.