VLDB Endowment Awards

1. VLDB Early Career Research Contribution Award

The award recognizes a researcher who has demonstrated research impact through a specific technical contribution of high significance since completing their Ph.D.

  • The award is given for a specific technical contribution and not for the researcher's cumulative contributions across diverse topics. The technical contribution must have been made after completing the Ph.D. In other words, research prior to obtaining the Ph.D. cannot be used towards this award.
  • The candidate should have been awarded the Ph.D. no earlier than June 15, 2015. The nomination package should include a statement from the advisor (or the department office) confirming the date of graduation of the candidate.
  • The nomination statement (500 words or fewer) should consist of a brief description of the specific contribution made by the candidate and of its significance.
  • Anyone in the community may submit a nomination. Self-nominations are not allowed.
  • The nomination must be supported by three letters of references from people who are not directly connected to the nominee. The letters must address the significance and the candidate’s role in the specific research contribution cited in the nomination. Advisors, advisees, and co-authors of the nominee who collaborated on the specific research contribution cited in the nomination cannot act as references. Ideally, a reference is a well-known member of the community who has not had a close association with the nominee on the specific topic cited in the nomination, but who can still vouch with authority for the candidate’s contribution.
  • It is the responsibility of the nominator to ensure that the nomination statement, the statement of graduation date, and the references reach the Awards Committee Chair via email by the submission deadline.
  • Nominations that did not result in an award can be updated in subsequent years as long as the candidate continues to meet the constraint on the Ph.D. graduation date (i.e., at most 8 years after the Ph.D.).
  • If a nominee experienced a life event that profoundly impacted the nominee’s productivity for a sustained time period (e.g., giving birth), the 8-year limit may be extended appropriately.
  • The award carries a cash prize of USD 2000.
Previous winners of the award were Daniel Abadi (2013), Thomas Neumann (2014), Christopher Re (2015), Luna Dong (2016), Guoliang Li (2017), Tim Kraska (2018), Aditya Parameswaran (2019), Meihui Zhang (2020), Andy Pavlo (2021), and Sudeepa Roy (2022).

IMPORTANT DEADLINE: Nominations should be sent via email to the 2023 VLDB Endowment Awards Committee Chair, Peter J. Haas, at phaas@cs.umass.edu, no later than June 15th, 2023.

2. VLDB Women in Database Research Award

The database research community is privileged to have excellent women researchers who have had significant impact on the field. The VLDB Endowment feels that we have a tremendous opportunity to recognize more of our outstanding women researchers through this specially designated award. VLDB values and celebrates the gender diversity of our field.

This award recognizes a woman researcher who has made significant technical contributions to the field. Leadership in the database research community will be considered a plus.

  • A nomination statement (500 words or less) should consist of a brief description of one or more technical contributions made by the candidate and the significance of that contribution. In addition, any contribution to the broader database community may be mentioned.
  • Anyone in the community may submit a nomination. Self-nominations are not allowed.
  • The nomination must be supported by three letters of references from people who are not directly connected to the nominee. The letters need to address the significance and the candidate’s research contribution as cited in the nomination. Advisors, advisees, and co-authors of the nominee who collaborated on the specific research contribution cited in the nomination cannot act as references. Ideally, a reference is a well- known member of the community who has not had a close association with the nominee, but who can still vouch with authority for the candidate’s contribution.
  • Nominations that did not result in an award can be updated in subsequent years.
  • The award carries a cash prize of USD 2000.
Previous winners of the award were Magda Balazinska (2016), Tova Milo (2017), Renee Miller (2018), Wang-Chiew Tan (2019), Anastasia Ailamaki (2020), Susan Davidson (2021), and Fatma Ozcan (2022).

IMPORTANT DEADLINE: Nominations should be sent via email to the 2022 VLDB Endowment Awards Committee Chair, Peter J. Haas, at phaas@cs.umass.edu, no later than June 15th, 2023.

3. 2022 VLDB Test of Time Award

There is no formal nomination process for this award, but input from the research community is welcome. A paper is selected from the VLDB Proceedings 10 to 12 years ago that best meets the "test of time.” In picking a winner, the committee evaluates the impact of the paper. The committee especially values impact of the paper in practice, e.g., in products and services. Impact on the academic community demonstrated through significant follow through research by the community is also valued. The committee is especially interested in first-hand accounts of ways in which the ideas of a paper have been used in practice. If you have such information, or any other information that you believe would be of use to the committee, please send email to the chair of the 2023 VLDB Endowment Awards Committee, Peter J. Haas, at phaas@cs.umass.edu, no later than June 15th, 2023.

Thank you in advance for helping us put together a strong set of nominees!

2023 VLDB Endowment Awards Committee:

Susan B. Davidson
Peter J. Haas (Chair)
Christopher Jermain
Fatma Ozcan
Xiaofang Zhou