About

The J. Don Read Early Career Award was established in 2015 to recognize the outstanding contributions of emerging scholars, less than 10 years post-PhD, in the area of applied memory and cognition. The award was named in honor of J. Don Read who was a founding member of SARMAC, the organizer of its first conference in 1995, and a long-serving member of the Governing Board (as well as Secretary-Treasurer from 1998-1999 and President from 2000-2003). While Don’s scholarly accomplishments have been described as “substantial and significant” (Connolly & Lindsay, 2016, p. 97), he will best be remembered by many of us for his gentle approach to mentoring and nurturing young scholars in applied cognition. As aptly described by Connolly and Lindsay: “Don stands for so many things, but the most outstanding is his commitment to students and young faculty. Don has mentored, counseled, and supported innumerable students and junior faculty across his career. His patience is very nearly endless, and he puts his heart as well as his head into helping students and young colleagues” (p. 98).

The Prize

In an effort to provide even more support to early-career SARMAC colleagues, since 2021, the J. Don Read Early Career Award has been awarded annually rather than biennially!

Recipients are invited to deliver a keynote presentation at the Society’s biennial conference, and also receive up to $1000 to support travel (i.e., flights, accommodation) to present at the conference, free conference registration, and complimentary 1-year membership to SARMAC. Recipients are invited to submit an article to JARMAC describing their research efforts, though the submission must follow the standard review process and be accepted by the Editor.

Recipients of the J. Don Read Early Career Award in 2026 and 2027 will have the opportunity to deliver a keynote presentation at SARMAC XV 2027 in Vancouver, Canada, June 09-12.

How to Apply for 2025

Call for nominations is CLOSED.

Nominations may be submitted by any regular member of the society at the time of submitting and must include:

A current copy of the nominee's curriculum vitae.
A letter of nomination and a letter of support, both by regular SARMAC members, describing: (a) the nominee’s research contributions to applied memory and cognition; (b) why that body of research makes a novel or creative contribution to theory or practice; and (c) evidence that the body of research is exceptional and transformative. Each letter is limited to two pages, single-sided, single-spaced.
No more than five reprints, preferably from peer-reviewed empirical journals, selected to best represent the nominee's contributions.
A one-page cover sheet that contextualizes the reprints with respect to the award criteria.
To be eligible, the nominee is to be a current member of SARMAC at the time of submitting. Please ensure that the nominee’s SARMAC-subscribed email address is being used in any documentation. Contact the executive director if unsure of the registered email address.

Materials must be submitted by email to the Executive Director (executivedirector@sarmac.org). Late nominations will not be accepted.

*The 10 year rule is based on the year the nominee was awarded a PhD to the year the Early Career Award will be given. The Society defines early-career researcher status as being less than 10 years post PhD conferral Full-Time Equivalent (i.e., recognising career interruptions relating to, for example, medical leave and parental/family leave). Confirmation of doctoral degree conferral may be requested by the Executive Director at any time. When applying for the J. Don Read Early Career Award, individuals who are more than 10 years post-PhD should (or will be asked to, if missing) briefly explain the nature of their career interruptions.

Dr Yueran Yang, University of Nevada, Reno

Receipient of the J. Don Read Early Career Award 2026

The Governing Board is delighted to announce that Dr Yueran Yang is the highly deserving recipient of this year's J. Don Read Early Career award. Dr Yan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at University of Nevada, Reno (US). Dr Yang’s research aims to understand the psychological causes of convictions of the innocent. According to the Awards Committee, Dr Yang's work makes "fundamental contributions to applied memory and congition through its innovative and integration of mathematical modelling, cognitive theory, and legal decision-making” and noted that Dr Yang’s "ability to combine rigorous quantitative methods with questions of clear practical importance exemplifies the mission of SARMAC to promote research that is both theoretically significant and socially relevant“. Many thanks to SARMAC members Prof Margaret Bull Kovera and Dr Ryan Fitzgerald for nominating Dr Yang.

The Society will formally acknowledged Dr Yang's achievements at the opening ceremony of the SARMAC XV conference in Vancouver, Canada, 09-12 June, 2027. Dr Yang will also deliver a keynote talk at the meeting. We hope you can join us then to learn more about her exciting work!

Past Recipients of the J. Don Read Early Career Award

2024 - Dr Veronica Yan, University of Texas at Austin, US (Honorable mentions: Dr Ryan Fitzgerald, Simon Fraser University, Canada & Dr Daniela Palombo, University of British Columbia, Canada)

2023 - Dr Lauren Richmond, Stony Brook University, US (Honorable mentions: Dr Ryan Fitzgerald, Simon Fraser University, Canada & Dr Sharda Umanath, Claremont McKenna College, US)

2022 - Dr Caitlin Hitchcock, University of Melbourne, Australia (Honorable mentions: Dr Miko Wilford, University of Massachusetts Lowell, US)

2021 - Dr Melissa Colloff, Birmingham University, UK

2019 - Dr Sarah Barber, Georgia State University, US

2017 - Dr Andrew Butler, Washington University in St Louis, US

2015 - Dr Jason Chan, Iowa State University, US

* In 2022, the Governing Board passed a motion to grant “honorable mentions” to nominees whose applications were deemed to be outstanding.