The POAC International Committee has initiated a program to provide two different awards:

POAC Founders Lifetime Achievement Award

At each POAC Conference, the President of the POAC International Committee will present a POAC Founders Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize an individual who has both worked to promote the quality of the International POAC conference over a number of years, and made significant advances to understand the effects of ice on activities in ice-covered waters.

2009 Recipient: William Sackinger
2011 Recipient: Joachim Schwarz
2013 Recipient: Garry Timco
2015 Recipient: Lennart Fransson
2017 Recipient: Sveinung Løset
2019 Recipient: Kaj Riska
2021 Recipient: Walter Spring
2023 Recipient: Jukka Tuhkuri

POAC Best Student Paper Award

An award will be given out at each POAC Conference to the student who presents the best paper at the conference. The student papers will be judged by selected members of the International Committee. The award is comprised of a plaque and a scholarship.

2009 Recipient: Vegard Aksnes
2011 Recipient: Charles Gignac
2013 Recipient: Wenjun Lu
2015 Recipient: Jochen Tijsen
2017 Recipient: Hamid Shayanfar
2019 Recipient: Martin St-Amant
2021 Recipient: Tim C. Hammer
2023 Recipient: Vegard Hornnes