15th International Congress of Orthopterology (ICO) Grants & Awards
Grants
2026 Orthopterists’ Society Congress Travel Grants for ICO
Application Deadline: June 30, 2025
Contact: Axel Hochkirch
The Orthopterists’ Society will provide a total of $15,000 for travel to the 15th ICO that will be held in San Mártin de Los Andes, Patagonia, Argentina, March 8-12, 2026. The funds will be for 5-8 separate grants of varying amounts, which will cover costs of travel to the ICO, plus congress hotel and registration expenses. The grants are mainly for students and young professionals who are giving a presentation at the congress (papers or posters), have insufficient funds for travel, and who need either partial or complete funding for their travel.
Applicants should send a short e-mail to Axel Hochkirch, including their name, affiliation, age, tentative title of the presentation, country of residence, and estimated amount of funding needed for travel, hotel, and registration (subtotals for each and a grand total).
Awards
All awards will be presented at the 15th ICO in San Mártin de Los Andes, Patagonia, Argentina, March 8-12, 2026
1) 2026 Ted Cohn Award for Excellence as a Young Professional Orthopterist (2 Awards Available)
Application Deadline: September 30, 2025
Contact: Axel Hochkirch
This award is for young professionals, aged 35 or less, who are at the last stage of dissertation, or doing a postdoc, or even early-stage research or another relevant professional position. There are two $2500 awards, one for applied and another for non-applied orthopterists. Because this is an excellence award, it should be based on research products, such as publications. The application is based on a 1-page personal statement, C.V., the applicant’s most significant publication, and 1-2 letters of support. The OS Executive Board will choose amongst the candidates.
2) 2026 D.C.F. Rentz Award for Lifetime Dedication to Orthopterology
Application Deadline: October 31, 2025
Contact: Axel Hochkirch
This award is intended to recognize the outstanding contributions of the nominee to Orthoptera research, particularly the work of retired or Emeritus orthopterists who have devoted their entire life to the study of Orthoptera. Complete applications consist of a letter of nomination with a brief description of the accomplishments of the candidate proposed, along with one or two letters of support. The OS Executive Board will choose among the candidates and the awardees will receive a personalized award certificate to reflect the nature of their contributions to Orthopterology.
3) 2026 Sir Boris Uvarov Award in Applied Orthopterology
Application Deadline: TBD
Contact: TBD
This award bears the name of the Father of Modern Acridology, the famous Russian-English Orthopterist, Sir Boris Uvarov (1886-1970). Co-sponsored by the Association of Applied Acridology International and the Orthopterists’ Society, this award recognizes outstanding contributions that have a direct impact on both the theory and practice of locust and/or grasshopper management. The award consists of a plaque and a $4000 prize. Nominations can be submitted by any person or organization and self-nominations will be accepted.
Nomination packages must include a C.V. of the nominee (5 pages maximum) and a letter of recommendation specifically stating the nominee’s significant contributions to the theory of locust and/or grasshopper management in the form of publications, research grants, student advising, and presentations at national and international scientific forums as well as evidence of major impact into the practice of locust and/or grasshopper management at national or international level.
Nominees/candidates will be judged by an award panel consisting of Orthopterists’ Society members with international expertise in both theoretical and practical locust and/or grasshopper management and will include at least one previous recipient of the award.