Nominations for the October 2025 award must be submitted by August 11, 2025 using the form below.
View the videos of previous recipients and their exceptional projects that have helped create a safer Internet for all of us and use the form below for submissions.
The M3AAWG J.D. Falk Award seeks to recognize people who are committed to making a better online world, while embodying the spirit of J.D.'s volunteerism and community building.
Nominees will have demonstrated dedication to improving the Internet experience and protecting end users, have a vigilant eye on the broader perspective of Internet systems and communities and call upon thoughtful humor when things get tough.
The award seeks to recognize efforts for a particularly meritorious item of work rather than recognizing a lifetime of achievement. (The M3AAWG Mary Litynski Award honors lifetime achievement.)
Examples of accomplishments considered for the J.D. Falk Award include developing a service, authoring a specification or related documentation, inventing a security mechanism or other technology, mentoring a community, or pursuing notable research related to Internet abuse.
The work can be in an academic or corporate context and can be an individual, group or institutional effort.
The award includes an honorarium underwritten by J.D.’s employer, Return Path Inc., now Validity, Inc. M3AAWG will also sponsor the winning candidate's attendance at the October M3AAWG general meeting where the award will be presented.
Both non-members or members can submit nominations by completing the form below.