The Sidney Powers Memorial Award is a gold medal given in recognition of distinguished and outstanding contributions to, or achievements in, petroleum geology, It is the Association＇s highest award, The first recipient was Wallace E. Pratt (1945); the 50th recipient is Robert D. Gunn (1997), No awards were given in 1946, 1949, or 1955, Thirty-two (64%) of the Medalists have been presidents of AAPG; the other 18 (36%) Medalists were substantively involved in AAPG, SEPM, and SEG, as well as other professional, scientific, and public activities. When the award was initiated, SEPM and SEG were divisions of AAPG; their presidents were exofficio members of the Medal Award Committee, and their members were equally eligible for consideration for the award. Since 1975, due to a change in bylaws by the Executive Committee, an individual must be a member of AAPG to be eligible for receipt of the Sidney Powers Memorial Medal.