Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Deadline: October 31, 2025
This award, together with the Marble Fund Award for Innovative Master’s Research in Quantitative Geography and the William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography, are activities of the Marble Fund and are supported by donations to the fund. Additional support from Mr. Jack Dangermond is gratefully acknowledged.
The award is named for Dr. Duane Marble, creator of the Marble Fund, and for the late Dr. A. R. (Ray) Boyle who was a major contributor to the early development of both computer cartography and geographic information systems. Dr. Ray Boyle was born in England in 1920 and served with the British Admiralty during World War II. After the war, he developed and patented many graphic systems for plotting and digitizing and was the inventor of the “free cursor” digitizing system that was the basis for the digital entry of much early spatial data. After moving to Canada in 1965 he was appointed Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan where, among many other achievements, he developed the first digital system for nautical chart production for the Canadian Hydrographic Service. He worked for many years with Dr. Roger Tomlinson on the technical evaluation of GIS software and was also an active member of the IGU Commission on Geographical Data Sensing & Processing for many years.
The Award
This award aims to recognize excellence in academic performance by undergraduate students from the United States and Canada who are putting forth a strong effort to bridge geographic science and computer science as well as to encourage other students to embark upon similar programs.
Each of the Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Awards consists of a cash prize of $1,000 and a certificate of recognition. Esri has also agreed to provide priority consideration to any of the awardees who may be interested in participating in their Summer Intern Program.
Initially, up to three awards will be made available each year. Formal presentation of the awards will be made at the AAG Annual Meeting. Awardees are encouraged, but not required, to attend.
Applications will be reviewed by the Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award Committee. After review, the committee will recommend up to three applications to the Marble Fund Trustees as winners. Final awards will be made by the Trustees.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be enrolled in a full–time program of undergraduate study at an accredited United States or Canadian college or university.
- At the time of the application, the applicant must be no more than twelve months from graduation.
- Applicants must demonstrate a reasonable intent to embark upon a career or further education that will make use of their joint geographic science and computer science knowledge.
- There is no limit with respect to the number of students who can apply from a single institution. There will be, however, only one student per year from a single institution who may receive an award.
- Applicants do not need to be members of the Association of American Geographers, but they are strongly encouraged to consider membership.
- As with all other AAG awards, eligibility also rests on the candidate being in compliance with the AAG Professional Conduct Policy. Nominations may be rescinded, and the award may also be revoked for any candidate or awardee who is found in violation of the AAG’s Professional Conduct Policy.
Applications
A complete application must be received no later than the close of business on the deadline (Eastern Standard Time).
Applicants must provide:
- An essay of no more than 800 words, formatted in 12 pt Times New Roman, double-spaced with 1” margins, identifying the individual’s areas of interest within geographic science and computer science, a description of his or her career goals, and a statement as to how his or her joint background in geographic science and computer science will help to meet these goals.
- A letter of recommendation from the student’s faculty advisor, department chair or program director. The letter should clearly address both the applicant’s academic performance as well as their potential for a career or further education that utilizes their geographic science and computer science background. Recommendation letters must be signed and written on institutional letterhead as a PDF. Applicants will make a direct request for a letter of recommendation within the application portal.
- An official or unofficial copy of the applicant’s transcript(s) with all relevant courses in geographic science and computer science, and grades received in these courses, highlighted.
- For each highlighted course, the applicant must provide a one or two sentence description of the course content, the text book(s) used (if applicable), and the name(s) of the instructor(s).
For questions or difficulties, please contact grantsawards@aag.org or call the AAG at 202-234-1450.
AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award Recipients
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Rachel de Sobrino
Rachel de Sobrino, University of Minnesota
2023 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Rachel de Sobrino
2023 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Rachel de Sobrino, University of Minnesota
Laurel Sparks
Laurel Sparks, Georgia State University
2023 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Laurel Sparks
2023 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Laurel Sparks, Georgia State University
Matthew DeWitte
Matthew DeWitte, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
2022 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Matthew DeWitte
2022 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Matthew DeWitte, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
Keegan Moynahan
Keegan Moynahan, University of Massachusetts Amherst
2022 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Keegan Moynahan
2022 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Keegan Moynahan, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Zimo Xiao
Zimo Xiao, University of Illinois
2022 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Zimo Xiao
2022 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Zimo Xiao, University of Illinois
Jessica Embury
Jessica Embury, San Diego State University
2021 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Jessica Embury
2021 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Jessica Embury, San Diego State University
Daniel Council
Daniel Council, Ball State University
2021 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Daniel Council
2021 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Daniel Council, Ball State University
Jacob Bostick
Jacob Bostick, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
2020 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Jacob Bostick
2020 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Jacob Bostick, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
Nathan Fiscus
Nathan Fiscus, University of North Alabama
2020 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Nathan Fiscus
2020 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Nathan Fiscus, University of North Alabama
Chelsie Perkins
Chelsie Perkins, East Tennessee State University
2020 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Chelsie Perkins
2020 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Chelsie Perkins, East Tennessee State University
Katherine Jolly
Katherine Jolly, Macalester College
2019 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Katherine Jolly
2019 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Katherine Jolly, Macalester College
Pearl Leff
Pearl Leff, Hunter College – CUNY
2019 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Pearl Leff
2019 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Pearl Leff, Hunter College – CUNY
Rachel Pierstorff
Rachel Pierstorff, University of Denver
2019 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Rachel Pierstorff
2019 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Rachel Pierstorff, University of Denver
Noah Irby
Noah Irby, University of North Dakota
2018 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Noah Irby
2018 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Noah Irby, University of North Dakota
Coty Welch
Coty Welch, University of North Alabama
2017 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Coty Welch
2017 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Coty Welch, University of North Alabama
Andrew Green
Andrew Green, Jacksonville State University
2016 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Andrew Green
2016 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Andrew Green, Jacksonville State University
Jeffrey King
Jeffrey King, University of Missouri
2016 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Jeffrey King
2016 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Jeffrey King, University of Missouri
Taylor Mckeeman
Taylor Mckeeman, University of Calgary
2016 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Taylor Mckeeman
2016 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Taylor Mckeeman, University of Calgary
Angel Pitts
Angel Pitts, University of South Carolina
2015 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Angel Pitts
2015 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Angel Pitts, University of South Carolina
Andrew Ortego
Andrew Ortego, The University at Buffalo
2013 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Andrew Ortego
2013 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Andrew Ortego, The University at Buffalo
Sergey Reid
Sergey Reid, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi
2012 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Sergey Reid
2012 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Sergey Reid, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi
Darren Boss
Darren Boss, University of Victoria
2011 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Darren Boss
2011 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Darren Boss, University of Victoria
Rheannon Brooks
Rheannon Brooks, University of Victoria
2010 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Rheannon Brooks
2010 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Rheannon Brooks, University of Victoria
Jason Jones
Jason Jones, University of Southern Mississippi
2010 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Jason Jones
2010 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Jason Jones, University of Southern Mississippi
Brandon Zook
Brandon Zook, University of Wyoming
2010 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Brandon Zook
2010 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Brandon Zook, University of Wyoming
Joanna Merson
Joanna Merson, University of Victoria and MFSA Supplemental Research Fellowship for September 2009 – February 2010 at the MicrGIS Foundation in Switzerland.
2009 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Joanna Merson
2009 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Joanna Merson, University of Victoria and MFSA Supplemental Research Fellowship for September 2009 – February 2010 at the MicrGIS Foundation in Switzerland.
Kenneth Robertson
Kenneth Robertson, Central Michigan University
2009 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Kenneth Robertson
2009 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Kenneth Robertson, Central Michigan University
Doris Lam
Doris Lam, York University honorable mention
2009 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Doris Lam
2009 AAG Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award
Doris Lam, York University honorable mention