James W. Vaupel Trailblazer Award for Innovation in Demography (all levels of seniority)

This Award honors innovative contributions by an individual scholar to demography and the interdisciplinary study of population. Trailblazing achievements include novel approaches in the development and application of the methods and models of demographic analysis, as well as the development of new theoretical approaches, the exploration of novel data sources and new interdisciplinary collaborations. Innovation is key to this award.

The Award is dedicated to the groundbreaking contributions of James W. Vaupel (1945-2021) to demographic research and his role as the founding father of lasting demographic institutions and organizations. It also emphasizes his role as an inspirational educator and mentor with an immense influence on the careers of many generations of demographers.

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

Rules of Play

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