Research Grants
The Research Committee of the American Alpine Club administers funds from three endowments: The Arthur K. Gilkey Memorial Research Fund, the William Putnam Research Fund, and the Bedayn Research Fund. Through these funds, the AAC is able to support modest requests to assist scientific research projects within the scope of the AAC's charter.
How to Apply
The application deadline for the AAC Research Grant is March 1st. Late applications will not be accepted.
How to Submit
Applications must be submitted electronically via an emailed Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) attachment. Scanned signatures must be inserted within the submitted proposal. Proposals submitted without signatures on both the waiver and grant application will not be accepted. Please submit relevant photos of your objective along with your application.
An application is required. You may also include attachments that will give the committee a better understanding of your proposal, but we ask that you keep them concise due to the number of proposals we receive.
Selection Procedure
A committee reviews the applications, selects the recipients, and decides how much each of the recipients will receive. Recipients are typically chosen eight to ten weeks after submittal and all applicants will be notified of the committee’s decision at that point.
Research Committee Bios
Wm. Hugh Bollinger, Chair
Mr. Bollinger has nearly 30 years of business background and experience. He founded Pondaray, a publisher of photographic and video content and serves as its president. Hugh serves as a trustee and advisor to several non-profit organizations, and holds a PhD in mountain ecology and MS in plant biogeography from the University of Colorado and a BA in environmental studies from the University of California. He has traveled and worked in Asia, Central America, Europe, Australia, and Africa and these passions continue.
John M. Grunsfeld
Mr. Grunsfeld has been a member of NASA’s astronaut corps since 1992. He served as NASA’s chief scientist detailed to help restore the optics for the Hubble Space Telescope which he repaired during a lengthy space walk. John has logged over 45 days in space including 5 space walks totally nearly 40 hours, and holds a bachelor of science degree in physics from MIT and a MS and PhD in physics from the University of Chicago. He is an active mountaineer and has used his unique vantage point from the Space Shuttle to capture exceptional photographic images of geographic and mountain systems worldwide.
Raymond B. Huey
Mr. Huey works at the interface of evolution, ecology, behavior, physiology, and the environment. Aspects of Mr. Huey’s work on invasive species, evolutionary physiology, and Himalayan mountaineering have considerable applied relevance. He holds a BA degree from the University of California, a MA from the University of Texas, and a PhD from Harvard University. Mr. Huey enjoys the water and mountain landscapes surrounding Seattle, WA.
Walter E. Parham
Mr. Parham’s professional activities have included investigations of tropical rock weathering processes, environmental geology, and sustainable agriculture in developing countries. Mr. Parham holds a PhD from the University of Illinois in geology and clay mineralogy. His field research and lectures have taken him to China, India, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.
W. Lowell Putnam
W. Lowell Putnam is President/CEO of VCI, a video and communications technology company in Springfield, Massachusetts and a Life Member of the AAC. The Putnam Family’s pioneering underwriting for the AAC’s Research Grants Program has allowed multiple projects to receive financial support for environment and mountain research.
Sarah Vaill
For over a decade, Ms. Vaill has worked for organizations in the fields of international women’s rights and philanthropy. She is a full-time writer and consultant, a part-time filmmaker, and a longtime social activist. Ms. Vaill is a graduate of the UCLA Film School's Professional Program in Screenwriting and holds a B.A. from Duke University in Gender and Hispanic Cultures. Sarah’s travels and trekking have taken her to the Himalayas, the Andes, Pyrenees, Patagonia, and several volcanoes.
Past Recipients
2006
AAC member Tana Beus - for a study on the decline of mountain goats in their historic range in the North Cascades.
AAC members Keith Bosak and Laura Caplins - for their proposal titled, “A Woman’s Place? Mountain Tourism, Information Technologies and Women’s Empowerment in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Garhwal Himalaya , India.”
Monica Bruckner - for her proposal to gain a better understanding of deglaciation on downstream systems and processes in the Yukon Territory.
Teresa Chuang - for research on the shift of species ranges as a result of climate change in the Sierra Nevada.
AAC member Adam French - for analyzing local livelihood needs and crafting strategies for community-managed protected areas in the Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru.
Koren Nydick - for his study of alpine plants in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado and their response to climate change.
Clint Rogers - for his research related to the persistence of subsistence trade in the borderlands of Nepal-Tibet.