Sponsored by: Remote Sensing Specialty Group (RSSG) and MDPI Remote Sensing
The Remote Sensing Specialty Group (RSSG) of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) is pleased to announce the 2027 RSSG Student Honors Paper Competition, sponsored by MDPI Remote Sensing. Students at all academic levels are invited to submit original research papers on topics that advance the field of remote sensing. Selected finalists will be invited to present their paper in a special paper session at the 2027 AAG Annual Meeting, to be held February 8–12, 2027, in New York City, NY.
Eligibility
We encourage papers on innovative remote sensing methods, concepts, theories, as well as applications. To be eligible for the competition, ALL the following requirements must be met:
- The applicant must register for the 2027 AAG Annual Meeting and submit an abstract for the meeting.
- The applicant must be a student when submitting materials to the 2027 RSSG Students Honors Paper Competition and presenting the paper at the 2027 AAG Annual Meeting.
- The research must have been completed within the past academic year as part of the applicant’s undergraduate or graduate studies and can include thesis/dissertation topics.
- While papers may include co-authors, the applicant must be the first author and have made the primary contribution to the research presented.
- The paper must not have been published or submitted for consideration for another award at the time of submission to the 2027 RSSG Students Honors Paper Competition.
- Applicants must attend the 2027 AAG Annual Meeting in person and present their paper in the 2027 RSSG Student Honors Paper Competition session.
Important Dates
- October 15, 2026: deadline for submitting your abstract to AAG.
- October 25, 2026: deadline for submitting your extended abstract (different from the regular AAG abstract) and all required documents and forms to the AAG RSSG Student Honors Paper Competition committee.
- December 31, 2026: deadline for submitting the full paper.
- February 8 –12, 2027: present your project at the 2027 AAG Annual Meeting.
Please note that all time requirements are according to Eastern Time.
Extended Abstract Guidelines
The extended abstract will be used to determine up to 10 competition finalists. Please follow the guidelines below when preparing the extended abstract:
- Have a separate title page which includes the title, author(s) names, and contact information of the author(s) of the project.
- Start a new page, repeat the title, and hide author information.
- Summarize the background, objectives, methods, results, and conclusions of the study.
- Include references and citations.
- 600-800 words in length. Words in the title page and the reference list do NOT count towards the word count for the extended abstract.
- May include up to two additional pages for tables and/or figures, if necessary.
- Submit the extended abstract as a Microsoft Word document (in DOC or DOCX format). See the “Submission” section below for details.
Paper Guidelines and Structures
Each selected finalist will be required to submit one digital copy of the completed paper as a Microsoft Word document (in DOC or DOCX), which must be prepared in accordance with the format requirements of the PE&RS Journal. Manuscript guidelines for PE&RS can be found on the ASPRS website at https://www.asprs.org/asprs-publications/pers/pers-instructions-for-authors-submitting-a-manuscript-for-peer-review. The length of the paper MUST NOT EXCEED 27 pages including tables and figures. There will be strict enforcement of the page limit and formatting requirements of the papers.
Judging
Winners will be selected by considering their performance on both the paper and the oral presentation. Extended abstracts and written papers will be evaluated by the RSSG Judges Committee on the contribution to the field of remote sensing, originality, novelty, research design, organization, and the overall quality of the paper. The oral presentation will be evaluated on professional delivery, organization, clarity, visual aids, and the overall presentation quality. Evaluation will also take the academic level of the applicant into account.
Awards
First-, second-, and third-place awards will be determined following the competition sessions. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of MDPI Remote Sensing, the awards are:
- First place: $500 and a 100% article processing charge (APC) waiver for publication in MDPI Remote Sensing*
- Second place: $300 and a 50% APC discount for publication in MDPI Remote Sensing*
- Third place: $100 and a 20% APC discount for publication in MDPI Remote Sensing*
- An undergraduate award may also be presented to an outstanding undergraduate researcher.
* The APC waiver or discount applies only to manuscripts accepted for publication in MDPI Remote Sensing through the journal’s standard peer-review process and does not guarantee acceptance or publication.
All awards will be presented at the AAG Annual Awards Luncheon, and the luncheon fee will be covered for all award recipients. The competition committee reserves the right not to award prizes if the submitted papers do not meet the expected standards of quality.
Special Issue Invitation
All participants are encouraged to submit a full manuscript based on their presented research to the forthcoming MDPI Remote Sensing Special Issue (title and link TBD). Submission to the Special Issue is optional and will not affect eligibility or judging in the competition. All manuscripts submitted to the Special Issue will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process.
Submission
Students who are interested should electronically submit the following materials to the RSSG Student Co-Director, Yifan Yang, at yyang295@tamu.edu and use “2027 RSSG Student Honors Paper Competition” as the subject title:
- A copy of the email receipt (in PDF) received from the AAG online abstract submission process (which includes the abstract code, due October 25, 2026).
- An extended abstract (in DOC or DOCX, due October 25, 2026).
- The applicant should complete the student form. Available at https://forms.gle/RN45RU3zq9EFSY9C9 (due October 25, 2026)
- The applicant’s advisor should complete the advisor’s form. Available at https://forms.gle/VTAgsdYnT8V1GU6f6 (due October 25, 2026)
- A Microsoft Word file of the full paper (in DOC or DOCX, due December 31, 2026)
- Presentation slides (due February 8, 2027)
Please note that all time requirements are according to Eastern Time.
Contact
If you have any questions about this competition, please send an email to the RSSG Student Co-Director, Yifan Yang, at yyang295@tamu.edu or the RSSG Co-Director, Ying Lu, at Ying.Lu@sfasu.edu, and use “2027 RSSG Student Honors Paper Competition” as the subject title.