The AAS Molly K. Macauley Award seeks to support and recognize future space industry leaders by awarding grants to a set of outstanding college and university students. Five finalists and one winner will be selected for each of two tracks: Business and Space Policy; and Science and Engineering. All ten finalists are provided with a $500 travel award, free registration to the annual AAS von Braun Symposium, and the opportunity to present their research as a poster at the Symposium. (The 2023 von Braun Symposium will take place October 25-27 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.) The two winners will receive an additional $2,500 award toward attendance at any future conference that includes topics related to the author’s paper’s subject. The two winners are also invited and expected to make a 10 to 15-minute oral presentation at the von Braun Symposium.
The AAS Molly K. Macauley Award, created in 2019, is named for Molly Macauley, a national leader in environmental economics who helped for many years to establish, lead, and guide research projects combining economics with space research. Her fields of interest and goals were broad, including space related renewable energy, new technologies and natural resources, and helping decision makers understand the economics of space. Molly was tragically murdered in 2016 while out walking her dogs. Her murder is still unsolved today.