AAE Awards & Recognition - American Association of Endodontists

Steps to submit a nomination to the AAE:

Step 1: Please take the time to familiarize yourself with the award criteria below.

Step 2: Complete the AAE Awards Nomination Form and submit it to awards@aae.org along with all supporting documents before January 7, 2022.

Designed to encourage and acknowledge lifelong enhancement of knowledge and skills, the AAE awards honor significant contributions to the specialty and community. We encourage all members to participate in the AAE awards and recognition program at some point in their career.

The purpose of the AAE awards and recognition program is to:

Celebrate the excellence and unique qualities of recipients.
Reward and acknowledge important contributions.
Engender pride and excitement in the organization.
Inspire and motivate future leaders.

Calvin D. Torneck Part-Time Educator Award
Spirit of Service Award (Career Dental Community Volunteer)
Spirit of Service Award (New Practitioner Dental Community Volunteer)
Honorary Membership
Student Achievement Award
President's Award

Edgar D. Coolidge Award

Named for Edgar D. Coolidge, a pioneer in endodontics who was instrumental in establishing the AAE, this award recognizes individuals who exemplify Dr. Coolidge’s extraordinary vision, leadership, and dedication to the specialty. Recipients of this award—the AAE’s highest honor—are an elite group of individuals who serve as role models for the entire endodontic community.

Award Criteria

This award recognizes individuals who have displayed leadership and exemplary dedication to dentistry and endodontics.

Nominee Requirements

Nominee must be an Active, Life, Disabled Active, Educator, International, or Retired member of the AAE at the time of nomination and approval by the board of directors.
The individual must have had active participation in the AAE during the individual's professional lifetime.

Nomination Requirements

Completed nomination form, letter of nomination, and current CV, submitted by lead nominator.
Five additional letters supporting the nomination (for a total of 6 letters.)

Guidelines

Nominations remain active for two years: the year in which the nomination was submitted, and the following year’s nomination cycle.
In order to remain active for a second year, nomination materials must be submitted to completion as outlined above. Nominations that are incomplete at the time of review by the Honors and Awards Committee will not be carried over to the following year’s nomination cycle.
A letter submitted with several signatures will be counted as one letter towards the nomination.

Past Recipients

Edgar D. Coolidge* ’69
Harry B. Johnston* ’70
Henry A. Bartels* ’71
Bertram L. Wolfsohn* ’74
Vincent B. Milas* ’75
Worth B. Gregory ’78
Jacob B. Freedland* ’80
Alfred L. Frank* ’81
George G. Stewart* ’82
F. Darl Ostrander* ’83
Maynard K. Hine* ’83
George C. Hare* ’84
Irving J. Naidorf* ’85
Harry Blechman* ’86
I.B. Bender* ’87
Dudley H. Glick* ’88
Samuel S. Patterson* ’89
Robert A. Uchin ’90
Michael A. Heuer ’91
Edward M. Osetek* ’92
Harold Gerstein* ’93
Henry J. Van Hassel ’93
Donald E. Arens* '94
Harold A. Maxmen* ’94

Herbert Schilder* ’95
Stuart B. Fountain ’96
Joseph D. Maggio ’97
Gerald C. Dietz Sr. ’98
John I. Ingle ’99
James C. McGraw ’00
Charles J. Cunningham ’01
Richard C. Burns* ’02
Noah Chivian ’03
Eric J. Hovland ’04
Philip W. Cohen* ’05*
Harmon R. Katz ’06
Stephen F. Schwartz ’07
Seymour Oliet ’08
Jeffrey W. Hutter ’09
Carl W. Newton ’10
Denis E. Simon III ’11
Jerome V. Pisano '12
Samuel O. Dorn '13
A. Eddy Skidmore '14
Sandra Madison '15
Mahmoud Torabinejad '16
James L. Gutmann '17
Gary R. Hartwell '18
Louis E. Rossman '19
Clara M. Spatafore '21

*Indicates deceased

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Louis I. Grossman Award

This award recognizes an author for cumulative publication of significant research studies that have made an extraordinary contribution to endodontology.

Award Criteria

This award is given for cumulative publication of significant research studies that have made an extraordinary contribution to endodontology.

Nominee Requirements

Nominee must be an Active, Life, Disabled Active, Retired, Educator, International, or Associate member of the AAE at the time of nomination and approval by the board of directors.

Nomination Requirements

Completed nomination form, letter of nomination, and current CV, submitted by lead nominator.
Nomination letter must cite the specific publications for which the individual is nominated and describe their significance.

Guidelines

Nominations remain active for two years: the year in which the nomination was submitted, and the following year’s nomination cycle.
In order to remain active for a second year, nomination materials must be submitted to completion as outlined above. Nominations that are incomplete at the time of review by the Honors and Awards Committee will not be carried over to the following year’s nomination cycle.

Past Recipients

Louis I. Grossman* ’73
Birger Nygaard-Ostby* ’76
I.B. Bender* ’78
Samuel Seltzer* ’80
Harold R. Stanley* ’81
Kaare Langeland* ’82
Henry J. Van Hassel ’84
Melvin Goldman* ’89
Syngcuk Kim ’90
Syngcuk Kim ’90
Calvin D. Torneck ’91
Henry O. Trowbridge ’92
Mahmoud Torabinejad ’93
Herbert Schilder* ’96

Geoffrey Heithersay ’00
Richard E. Walton ’01
Martin Trope ’02
Franklin S. Weine* ’03
Larz S.W. Spångberg ’04
James H. Simon* ’05
Leif Tronstad ’06
Kenneth M. Hargreaves ’07
Shimon Friedman ’08
Al Reader ’09J. Craig Baumgartner ’10
Ove A. Peters '12
Jose F. Siqueira Jr. '14
Markus Haapasalo '19
Anil Kishen '21

*Indicates deceased

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Ralph F. Sommer Award

This award is given to the principal author(s) of a publication of specific significance to the science and art of endodontology. The award may be given for articles describing developments or advances in methodology and/or materials and devices and for constructive influence on clinical practice. The paper(s) need not necessarily be based on research, but can be philosophical, social, technological, etc., and pertaining to endodontics.

Award Criteria

The award is given for recognition to the principal author(s) of a publication of specific significance to the science and art of endodontology. The award may be given for an article describing developments or advances in methodology and/or materials and devices and for constructive influence on clinical practice. The paper need not necessarily be based on research, but can be philosophical, social, technological, etc., and pertaining to endodontics.

Nominee Requirements

The award may be given to an AAE member or a non-AAE member.

Nomination Requirements

Completed nomination form, letter of nomination, copy of publication for which the individual is nominated, and current CV, submitted by lead nominator.
Nomination letter must cite the specific publication for which the individual is nominated and describe its significance.

Guidelines

Nominations remain active for two years: the year in which the nomination was submitted, and the following year’s nomination cycle.
In order to remain active for a second year, nomination materials must be submitted to completion as outlined above. Nominations that are incomplete at the time of review by the Honors and Awards Committee will not be carried over to the following year’s nomination cycle.
Previous recipients are ineligible to receive the Sommer award again.

Past Recipients

Calvin D. Torneck ’84
Alfred L. Frank* ’85
Mahmoud Torabinejad ’86
John I. Ingle ’87
Leif Tronstad ’90
Jens O. Andreasen ’91
I.B. Bender* ’93
Samuel Seltzer* ’93
Goran Sundqvist ’94

Gunnar Bergenholtz ’96
Miomir Cvek* ’03
Henry J. Van Hassel ’05
Harmeet D. Walia ’05
Syngcuk Kim ’06
Samuel Kakehashi ’09
John T. McSpadden ’11
Peter E. Murray '13
Stephen Cohen '15
P.N. Ramachandran Nair '16
Mahmoud Torabinejad '21

*Indicates deceased

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I.B. Bender Lifetime Educator Award

This award acknowledges a member whose contributions to endodontics in the field of education have demonstrated excellence through selfless commitment to full-time educational pursuits, and whose valuable contributions have instilled in his/her students the desire to pursue excellence in their careers.

Award Criteria

Recipients of this award have demonstrated status as an outstanding educator and mentor by:

earning the esteem and respect of peers and colleagues, faculty association and current/former students;
the quality of former students and their impact on endodontics;
earning the national/international reputation as an outstanding contributor to the art and science of endodontics as evidenced by invited presentations, the extent of scholarly activity including original research, textbook contributions, teaching material development and continuing education involvement.

Strong consideration should be given to those individuals whose many accomplishments have not been sufficiently recognized previously by the AAE.

Nominee Requirements

Nominee must be an Active, Educator, Disabled Active, Retired, International, or Life member at the time of nomination and approval by the board of directors.
Nominee must be a current or retired full-time educator, with a minimum of 15-years of service as a full-time educator.

Nomination Requirements

Completed nomination form, letter of nomination, and current CV, submitted by lead nominator.
Five additional letters supporting the nomination, from present/former students, endodontic educators/administrators, including deans.
One letter of verification from Program Director, Department Chair, or Dean of the nominee's educational institution, verifying the nominee's rank and years of experience. (For a total of seven letters.)
Other evidence may be submitted as appropriate, but is not required to complete a nomination. Examples include: awards, nominations, innovations in teaching etc.

Guidelines

Nominations remain active for two years: the year in which the nomination was submitted, and the following year’s nomination cycle.
In order to remain active for a second year, nomination materials must be submitted to completion as outlined above. Nominations that are incomplete at the time of review by the Honors and Awards Committee will not be carried over to the following year’s nomination cycle.
A letter submitted with several signatures will be counted as one letter towards the nomination.

Past Recipients

Gerald W. Harrington ’01
Raymond G. Luebke* ’02
F. James Marshall* ’03
Leif K. Bakland ’04
William J. Meyers ’05
Thomas P. Mullaney ’06
Nijole Remeikis ’07
Arne M. Bjorndal* ’08
Gary R. Hartwell ’09

Billie G. Jeansonne ’10
James L. Gutmann ’11
Richard E. Walton '12
H. Robert Steiman '13
M. Lamar Hicks '14
Christopher Wenckus '15
Daniel B. Green '16
Paul A. Rosenberg '17
Shimon Friedman '18
Kenneth N. Namerow '21
James D. Johnson '19

*Indicates deceased

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Edward M. Osetek Educator Award

This award is given to a member that has demonstrated status as an outstanding educator by earning the esteem and respect of his/her students and faculty associates; by the quality of former/current students and their impact on endodontics; and by receiving invitations to present endodontic seminars, lectures or workshops at other educational institutions.

Award Criteria

Recipients of the Edward M. Osetek Award have demonstrated status as an outstanding educator by:

earning the esteem and respect of students and faculty associates
the quality of former/current students and their impact on endodontics
receiving invitations to present endodontic seminars, lectures or workshops at other educational or research institutions.

Nominee Requirements
Nominee must meet these requirements at the time of nomination and approval by the board of directors:

- - Nominee must be an Active or Educator AAE member
  - Full-time faculty at the rank of instructor or assistant/associate professor in endodontics at an accredited U.S. dental school.
  - Must have less than ten years full-time teaching experience.

Nomination Requirements

- - Completed nomination form, letter of nomination, and current CV, submitted by lead nominator.
  - Five additional letters supporting the nomination, from colleagues, present/former students, endodontic educators/administrators, including deans.
  - One letter of verification from Program Director, Department Chair, or Dean of the nominee's educational institution, verifying the nominee's rank and years of experience. (For a total of seven letters.)
  - Other evidence may be submitted as appropriate, but is not required, to complete a nomination. Examples include: awards, nominations, innovations in teaching, etc.

Guidelines

Nominations remain active for two years: the year in which the nomination was submitted, and the following year’s nomination cycle. However, in order for a nomination to be carried over to the following year’s nomination cycle, the nominee must still fit all award criteria, including fewer than ten years of full-time teaching experience.
In order to remain active for a second year, nomination materials must be submitted to completion as outlined above. Nominations that are incomplete at the time of review by the Honors and Awards Committee will not be carried over to the following year’s nomination cycle.
A letter submitted with several signatures will be counted as one letter towards the nomination.
Previous recipients are ineligible to receive the Osetek award again.

Past Recipients

Gordon D. Mattison* ’95
Eric M. Rivera ’96
Asgeir Sigurdsson ’98
David E. Witherspoon ’99
Roberta Pileggi ’00
André K. Mickel ’01
Donna Mattscheck ’02
Shahrokh Shabahang ’03
Stephen J. Clark ’04
Karl Keiser ’04
Alexandre A.P. Fleury ’05
Andris Jaunberzins ’06

John M. Nusstein ’06
Jarshen Lin ’07
Anne E. Williamson ’08
Adam Lloyd ’10
Marc E. Levitan ’11
George A. Bruder III '12
Anthony T. Borgia '13
Melissa M. Drum '14
Jordan L. Schweitzer '15
Natasha M. Flake '16
Frederic Barnett '17
Richard D. Archer '18
Avina K. Paranjpe '19
Anibal R. Diogenes '21

*Indicates deceased

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Calvin D. Torneck Part-Time Educator Award

The Calvin D. Torneck Part-Time Educator Award recognizes AAE member endodontists whose contributions to endodontics in the field of education have demonstrated dedication to endodontics as a part-time teacher of endodontics in a predoctoral program, or in an advanced specialty education program in endodontics, and whose valuable contributions have instilled in his/her students the desire to pursue excellence in their career.

Award Criteria

The recipient must have demonstrated status as an outstanding part-time educator and mentor by earning the esteem and respect of peers, colleagues, faculty, and current or former students.

Nominee Requirements
Nominee must meet these requirements at the time of nomination and approval by the board of directors.

Must be an Active, Life, Disabled Active, International or Retired AAE member.
Minimum of 20 years' service as a part-time educator. The 20 years may be an accumulation of teaching years at different institutions.
Part-time shall be defined as an educator who is not considered full-time by the dental school or hospital where the educator taught endodontics in predoctoral programs or advanced specialty education programs in endodontics. The nominee may or may not have received compensation for their teaching.

Nomination Requirements

Completed nomination form, letter of nomination, and current CV, submitted by lead nominator.
Five additional letters supporting the nomination, from colleagues, present/former students, endodontic educators/administrators, including dean.
One letter of verification from Program Director, Department Chair, or Dean of the nominee's educational institution, verifying the nominee's rank and years of experience. (For a total of seven letters)
Other evidence may be submitted as appropriate, but is not required to complete a nomination. Examples include: awards, nominations, innovations in teaching, etc.

Guidelines

Nominations remain active for two years: the year in which the nomination was submitted, and the following year’s nomination cycle.
In order to remain active for a second year, nomination materials must be submitted to completion as outlined above. Nominations that are incomplete at the time of review by the Honors and Awards Committee will not be carried over to the following year’s nomination cycle.
A letter submitted with several signatures will be counted as one letter towards the nomination.

Past Recipients

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Spirit of Service Award (Career Dental Community Volunteer)

The Spirit of Service Award (Career Dental Community Volunteer) recognizes individuals who have demonstrated the true spirit of leadership through the following criteria:

devoted time and expertise
created effective partnerships in the dental community
impacted dental organizations
benefited patients by volunteering their time and expertise in treating the underserved

Award Criteria

Nominee Requirements

Nominee must be an Active, Life, Disabled Active, Educator, International, or Retired member of the AAE at time of nomination and approval by board of directors.

Nomination Requirements

Completed nomination form, letter of nomination, and current CV, submitted by lead nominator.
Nomination letter must cite specific volunteer activities and results.

Guidelines

Nominations remain active for two years: the year in which the nomination was submitted, and the following year’s nomination cycle.
In order to remain active for a second year, nomination materials must be submitted to completion as outlined above. Nominations that are incomplete at the time of review by the Honors and Awards Committee will not be carried over to the following year’s nomination cycle.

Past Recipients

Lifetime Dental Community Volunteer
George T. Goodis ‘07
William D. Powell ‘08
John D. Hartness ‘09
Adolph Bushell ‘10
James Lance ‘11
John W. Gillan ‘12
Terryl A. Propper ‘13
Scott J. Hodges ‘14
David C. Funderburk ‘15
Steven G. Forte ‘17

New Practitioner Community Volunteer
Jessica L. Barr ‘07
Judy D. McIntyre ‘08
Robert A. Goldberg ‘09
Kimberly A.D. Lindquist ‘11
G. Matthew Brock ’14
Cameron M. Howard ’15
Jeffrey S. Albert ‘16
Alejandro M. Aguirre '21

*Indicates deceased

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Spirit of Service Award (New Practitioner Dental Community Volunteer)

The Spirit of Service New Practitioner Dental Community Volunteer award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated the true spirit of leadership through the following criteria:

devoted time and expertise
created effective partnerships in the dental community
impacted dental organizations
benefited patients by volunteering their time and expertise in treating the underserved

Award Criteria

Nominee Requirements

Nominee must be an Active, Life, Disabled Active, Educator, International, or Retired member of AAE at time of nomination and approval by the board of directors.
Nominee must have been practicing endodontics for less than 10-years.

Nomination Requirements

Completed nomination form, letter of nomination, and current CV, submitted by lead nominator.
Nomination must cite specific volunteer activities and results.

Guidelines

Nominations remain active for two years: the year in which the nomination was submitted, and the following year’s nomination cycle.
In order to remain active for a second year, nomination materials must be submitted to completion as outlined above. Nominations that are incomplete at the time of review by the Honors and Awards Committee will not be carried over to the following year’s nomination cycle.

Past Recipients

*Indicates deceased

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Honorary Membership

Honorary Membership is awarded to individuals for significant contributions which have furthered the advancement of endodontics.

Award Criteria

Honorary membership is awarded to individuals for significant contributions which have furthered the advancement of endodontics.

Nominee Requirements

Nominee must be a non-endodontist.
Nominee must be living at the time of nomination and approval by the board of directors.

Nomination Requirements

Completed nomination form, letter of nomination, and current CV or resume, submitted by lead nominator.

Guidelines

Nominations remain active for two years: the year in which the nomination was submitted, and the following year’s nomination cycle.
In order to remain active for a second year, nomination materials must be submitted to completion as outlined above. Nominations that are incomplete at the time of review by the Honors and Awards Committee will not be carried over to the following year’s nomination cycle.

Past Recipients

Edgar D. Coolidge ʼ48*
W. Clyde Davis ʼ48*
Bernhard Gottlieb ʼ48*
Edward S. Hatton ʼ49*
Walter Hess ʼ49*
Hermann Prinz ʼ49*
Francisco Pucci ʼ49*
Sir E. Wilfred Fish ʼ56*
Birger Nygaard-Ostby ‘58*
Mary Crowley ‘66*
Ralph F. Sommer ʼ67*
Harold R. Stanley ʼ68*
Maynard K. Hine ʼ69*
Maury Massler ʼ71*
Louis I. Grossman ʼ73*
Oscar A. Maisto ʼ79*

Henry O. Trowbridge ʼ86
David H. Pashley ʼ92
Irma S. Kudo ʼ94
Frank N. Lentine ʼ94
Michel Maillefer ʼ94
Margaret R. Byers ʼ99
Jens O. Andreasen ʼ01
Shiro Kudo ʼ02*
Ivar Mjör ʼ04
Rafael Miñana ʼ06
Jill E. Cochran ʼ09
Gunnar Bergenholtz ʼ10
Mark A. Oliver ʼ10
Rebecca Funderburk ʼ11
Margie Hannen '17
Donald R. Nixdorf '18
Lynda L. Davenport '21

*Indicates deceased

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Student Achievement Award

The Student Achievement Award in Endodontics and certificate is presented annually to an undergraduate dental student who has demonstrated an above-average skill level in endodontics. While all students who show a keen interest in endodontics are encouraged to join the AAE as Predoctoral Student members, program directors are invited to nominate one student for this award each year.

For more information, contact the Membership Department at membership@aae.org, 800-872-3636 (North America) or 312-266-7255 (International).

Award Criteria

The student must show a broad interest in endodontics and demonstrate more involvement than is required of the average graduate in his/her class.
The student must show above average grades in clinical treatment of endodontic problems.
The student should have better than average grades in the didactic endodontic courses.
The chair of the endodontic department or section should take part in selecting the student for the award.

2021 Winners

A.T. Still University	Matthew Finor
A.T. Still University-Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health	Nicole Guito
Columbia University	Albert Chang
Creighton University	Raymond J. Fahrenbach
CWRU School of Dental Medicine	Daniela Diaz Gonzalez
Dental College of Georgia - Augusta University	Lana Tran
East Carolina University	James Mead
Howard University	Silwat Adeel
Indiana University	Samuel Patterson
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine	Rhett Pendley
Loma Linda University	Naghme Talakoub
Marquette University	Taylor Marie McEwee
Medical University of South Carolina	Elena Duren
Midwestern University	Meera Hirpara
Midwestern University	Thair Hasan
New York University	HyeMin Sohn
Nova Southeastern University	Abdulrahman Essaedi
Ohio State University	Shahab Rabizadeh
Oregon Health & Science University	Sydney Hoffman
Roseman University College of Dental Medicine	Joshua Boyd
Southern Illinois University	Rachel Jones
Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine	Clayton Janecke
Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine	David Minoli
Temple University	Daniel Romero
Texas A&M College of Dentistry	Francesca Clarice
The University of Texas School of Dentistry	Haleigh Lemons
Tufts University	Olivia Capotorto
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine	Hugh Phillis
University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine	Volodymyr V. Luka
University of Adelaide	Abhishek I. Mathew
University of Alabama at Birmingham	Kathryn Riley
University of Detroit Mercy	Yousif Brikho
University of Kentucky College of Dentistry	Shahad Alwan
University of Louisville	Robert K. McWhorter
University of Maryland	Steve Kokorelis
University of Mississippi School of Dentistry	William Key
University of Missouri-Kansas City	Emily Hutchinson
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry	Alex Madrahimov
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Dental Medicine	Joseph Brown
University of North Carolina School of Dentistry	Jackson Seagroves
University of Oklahoma	Lydia J. Bruce
University of Pennsylvania School of Denal Medicine	Kristina H. Mendlowski
University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine	Meer Ahmed
University of Southern California	Ariella Glodowsky

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President's Award

Presented at the discretion of the AAE President and approved by the Board of Directors, the President's Award honors exceptional members who work behind the scenes to promote and advance the Association.

Award Criteria

Nominates and confers the President’s Award with the approval of the board of directors to an individual who meets the award criteria.
The recipient will be nominated by the AAE President.
The individual must have actively participated in the AAE during his or her professional lifetime.
The recipient must be a living member of the AAE at time of nomination and approval by the board of directors.
The award will not necessarily be given annually.
The award will be presented by the AAE President during the Annual Meeting.
The award recognizes an AAE member who may not be, or may not have been, eligible for any of the following AAE awards: Edgar D. Coolidge, Louis I. Grossman, Ralph F. Sommer or Endodontic Educator Award.

Past Recipients

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