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
2008
Jeff Benowitz – The uplift history of the central Alaska Range: Climatic and Denali Fault implications.
Julie Crawford – For a proposal entitled: Multi-scale Investigations of Alpine Vascular Plant Species in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, USA GLORIA Target Region.
AAC Member Gregory de Pascale – For a proposal entitled: Glacier Ice Volume Loss in the Palisade Basin: Mapping Glacial Retreat from 1890’s to 2008 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California.
Jason Dortch – To answer the question: Has glacial incision during the last 4 million years controlled the uplift of 23,000 ft peaks in the Ladakh Range, northwest Indian Himalaya?
Paul Egan – For a study of: The ecology and conservational status of the Meconopsis genus, and its cultural significance, in Langtang National Park, Nepal.
Grant Elliott – For a study of: Multi-Scale Influences of Climate Change on Upper Treeline Dynamics in the Rocky Mountains, USA
AAC Member Julie Fosdick – For a proposal entitled: Evaluating the role of late Cenozoic glaciation in the physiographic development of the Torres del Paine region of the southern Patagonian Andes.
Benjamin Gross – For: Investigating the initial migration of humans in South America through glacial geology, geoarchaeology, and ice cores.
AAC Member Jon Kedrowski – For a proposal entitled: Climber’s Perceptions on Mount Rainier: Measuring Crowding Issues, Challenges, and Success.
Nathan Malcomb – For a study of: Long-term, tree-ring based productivity estimates of coastal forests along the Northwestern Cordillera of North America.
Michelle McCrackin – For a study of: Effects of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition on Alpine Lakes.
Dale Wagner – For a study of: Arterial Oxygen Saturation as a Predictor of Next-Day Acute Mountain Sickness or Summit Success.