Welcome to our awards and grants page

Explore our awards below. Please check when the awards open and close.

Each of the awards has specific criteria on the application form. These will be checked for each application, before an award is made. In general terms all awards are subject ot the following five criteria.

● All entrants must be an RSPSoc member for a minimum of 3 months.

● All awards will have a winner, a runner up and possibly a number of highly commended. Each will receive an electronic certificate.

● All entrants agree to limited publicity about their entry and themselves for the purposes of furthering RSPSoc’s charitable objects. Winners should be willing to write a short (500 word maximum) story for the website/promotional material on what they spent the prize money on and how it has supported them, within 12 months of the award.

● The decisions of the awards committee are final and there is no right of appeal.

● Applications for some of the awards by students will need to be endorsed by your supervisor or employer.

  • Undergraduate Dissertation award

    £1,000

    To showcase the best undergraduate dissertation.

    Award criteria:

    • Innovation

    • Originality

    • Contribution to the field

    • Use of new technology

    • Strength of research methods

    This award can cover research costs and attendance at conferences. Eligible costs are for any activity linked to the preparation of the dissertation, and conference/training costs during the preparation of the dissertation and in the year after its completion.

    Eligibility: Undergraduates.

    Apply Now

  • Postgraduate Thesis Award

    £2,000

    To showcase the best postgraduate thesis

    Award criteria:

    • Innovation

    • Originality

    • Contribution to the field

    • Use of new technology

    • Strength of research methods

    This award can cover research costs and attendance at conferences. Eligible costs are for any activity linked to the preparation of the thesis and conference/training costs during the preparation of the thesis and in the year after its completion.

    Eligibility: Postgraduates.

    Apply Now

  • Bill Barlow Award

    £2,000

    For the development of new professionals in the UK

    Award criteria:

    • Enhancement of knowledges, skills and behaviours

    • Enhancement of your career

    This award can cover the costs associated with research and/or new commercial developments in the remote sensing and photogrammetry fields. It can be used for research costs, attendance at conferences and any formal development. Eligible costs are for any activity linked to your development and for research/fieldwork both prior to the application and in the year after the award.

    Eligibility: New professionals with less than 2 years experience in work and resident in the UK.

    Apply Now

  • International Award

    £2,000

    For the development of new professionals outside the UK

    Award criteria:

    • Innovation

    • Originality

    • Contribution to the field

    • Use of new technology

    • Enhancement of knowledge skills and behaviours

    • Impact on your career

    This award can cover the costs of an innovative or groundbreaking idea and/or piece of research. It can be used for research costs, attendance at conferences and any formal development. Eligible costs are for any activity linked to your development and for research/fieldwork both prior to the application and in the year after the award.

    Eligibility: New professionals with less than 2 years experience in work and resident outside the UK.

    Apply Now

  • Business Innovation Award

    £4,000

    For the development of innovative ideas

    Award criteria:

    • Innovation

    • Originality

    • Contribution to the field

    • Use of new technology

    • Enhancement of knowledge skills and behaviours

    • Impact on your career

    This award can cover the costs of an innovative or groundbreaking idea and/or piece of research. It can be used for research costs, attendance at conferences and any formal development. Eligible costs are for any activity linked to your development and for research/fieldwork both prior to the application and in the year after the award.

    Eligibility: Professionals with more than 2 years experience in work.

    Apply Now

  • Sir Paul Curran Award

    £1,000

    Award for the mid-career professional who wants to develop their capabilities

    Award criteria:

    • Enhancement of knowledge, skills and behaviours

    • Impact on your career

    This award can cover costs associated with the development of knowledge and skills research in the remote sensing and photogrammetry fields. It can be used for attendance at conferences and any formal development. Eligible costs are for any activity linked to your development in the year after the award.

    Eligibility: Professionals with more than 2 years experience in work.

    Apply Now

  • Presidents Award

    Up to £1,000

    For the best paper or contribution in any of the publications or events delivered or sponsored by the RSPSoc or an RSPSoc corporate member. It will be published by RSPSoc.

    Award criteria:

    • Innovation

    • Originality

    • Contribution to the field

    • Use of new technology

    • Enhancement of knowledge skills and behaviours

    • Impact on your career

    This award can cover research costs, attendance at conferences and any formal development. Eligible costs are for any activity linked to your development and for research/fieldwork both prior to the application and in the year after the award.

    This award is open to anyone who presents a paper at a conference or has a paper published at an event or in a journal delivered or supported by RSPSoc.

    Apply Now

Grants Previously Awarded

2023 - 2025

2024-2025


• MSc Student award (Sponsored by UKSA)
Awarded for the best Masters thesis, on the subjects of remote sensing and/or photogrammetry, accepted by a university during the previous calendar year.
Amy Tyndall

• PhD student award (Sponsored by UKSA)
Awarded for the best Doctoral theses, on the subjects of remote sensing and/or photogrammetry, accepted by a university during the previous calendar year
Mahlatse Kganyago

• Bill Barlow award
This is for research or development in the RS&P fields.
Gerard Gallardo i Peres

• International Award
For the most innovative or ground breaking idea and/or piece of research outside the UK.
Not awarded

• Sir Paul Curran Award
For outstanding achievement and scholarship.
Dr. Amy Woodget

• EH Thompson award (Sponsored by Wiley):
Awarded to the author(s) of the paper in The Photogrammetric Record (PHOR) which most merits the award. The award will be made primarily for the originality of the content and the value of the paper to photogrammetry.
Wupeng Yang

• Arthur Cracknell award (Sponsored by Taylor & Francis) (formerly Remote Sensing Letters Award)
For the best letter published in the Remote Sensing Letters publication during the previous calendar year.
Dr C. A. Varotsos

• Len Curtis award (Sponsored by Taylor & Francis)
For an outstanding technical publication published in the preceding year in the International Journal of Remote Sensing (IJRS)
Dr C. Scott Watson

2023-2024

• MSc Student award (Sponsored by UKSA)
Awarded for the best Masters theses, on the subjects of remote sensing and/or photogrammetry, accepted by a university during the previous calendar year.
Roy Yuen University College London

• PhD student award (Sponsored by UKSA)
Awarded for the best Doctoral theses, on the subjects of remote sensing and/or photogrammetry, accepted by a university during the previous calendar year
Yu Tao University College London

• Bill Barlow award
This is for research or development in the RS&P fields.
Amritha Nair University of Worcester

• Business Innovation Award
The Living England Project, led by Natural England

• President Award/prize
For the best oral presentation at the Annual Conference of the Society  
Richard Brittan

• EH Thompson award (Sponsored by Wiley):
Awarded to the author(s) of the paper in The Photogrammetric Record (PHOR) which most merits the award. The award will be made primarily for the originality of the content and the value of the paper to photogrammetry.
Shuo Zhang,

• Arthur Cracknell award (Sponsored by Taylor & Francis) (formerly Remote Sensing Letters Award)
For the best letter published in the Remote Sensing Letters publication during the previous calendar year.
Dan Runfola.

• Len Curtis award (Sponsored by Taylor & Francis)
For an outstanding technical publication published in the preceding year in the International Journal of Remote Sensing (IJRS)
Jing Guo