James W. Vaupel Trailblazer Award

This Award honors outstanding achievements by an individual scholar in the development and application of the methods of demographic analysis, including mathematical and bio-demography.

The Award is dedicated to the path breaking contributions of James W. Vaupel (1945-2021) to research on mortality, lifespan and aging, as well as his advancement of bio demographic research. It also celebrates his role as founding father of lasting demographic institutions and organizations, and emphasizes his role as inspirational educator and mentor with an immense influence on the careers of many generations of demographers.

The Award is sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics at the University of Southern Denmark, of which James W. Vaupel was a founding director in 2018.

Nominations for this Award can be made until two months before the start of a European Population Conference. The next deadline is 1 April 2026!

Rules of Play

• Candidates should have at least five years of experience after their PhD.
• Candidates should be member of EAPS at the time of their nomination.
• Candidates may nominate themselves for this award; self-nominations should be supported by at least 3 members of EAPS residing in at least 2 different countries.
• Candidates may also be nominated by a peer and supported by at least 3 members of EAPS residing in at least 2 different countries.
• The Jury may invite nominations as well.
• Nominations should include a short (maximum one page) explanatory statement and a curriculum vitae of the candidate.
• Nominations should be sent to EAPS and will be treated as confidential.
• The Council of EAPS appoints an independent Jury of peers for this Award.
• The Jury consists of at least three members, one of whom will act as Chair.
• The Jury is free to organize its work as it deems appropriate and follows generally accepted scientific principles and criteria.
• The Jury will explicitly account for years of experience, and will also account for justified leave periods.
• Jury proceedings are confidential. The Jury submits a written report to the EAPS Council indicating the successful laureate and the motivation of the Jury.
• The Trailblazer Award brings a Euro 1000 cash benefit and a certificate.
  

Laureates

2024

Iñaki Permanyer, Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics (CED), Spain

2022

Melinda Mills, Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science (LCDS), University of Oxford, UK

2020

Martin Kolk, Stockholm University, Sweden

2018

Carlo Giovanni Camarda, Institut national d’études démographiques INED, France

2016

Emilio Zagheni, University of Washington, USA

2014

Annette Baudisch, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research MPIDR, Germany