About AASP-The Palynological Society (AASP-TPS)

The Palynological Society was established in 1967 as the ‘American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists (AASP)’ by a group of 32 founding members to promote the science of palynology. In 2008, AASP changed its name to ‘AASP – The Palynological Society (AASP-TPS)’ to reflect the society’s promotion of all aspects of palynology in industry and academia.

Today, The Palynological Society has an international membership of about 200 and is run by an elected Board of Directors and subsidiary committees. AASP-The Palynological Society welcomes new members — anyone with an interest in the science of palynology may join.

All members of AASP-The Palynological Society receive Palynology (either hardcopy, online, or both), which is published as four issues annually and the AASP-TPS Newsletter, which is published quarterly. The Palynological Society organizes annual meetings (on its own as well as with other specialized societies such as GSA, TMS, CIMP, IFPS and IPC) featuring technical sessions with talks and posters on all aspects of palynology. Registration fees are reduced for members of The Palynological Society. The meeting includes the society business luncheon, optional field trips and social events including special early-career events.

In addition to the journal Palynology and the Newsletter, The Palynological Society’s Foundation publishes the Contributions Series (mostly monographs, issued irregularly), as well as several books and other items. In 1990, AASP-The Palynological Society endowed the Center of Excellence in Paleopalynology (CENEX) in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Louisiana State University. CENEX houses an extensive collection of reprints and palynological slides.

The Palynological Society annually offers student research and travel awards to promote the study of palynology and travel to conferences. It also bestows several awards in recognition for contributions to palynology and in service to the society. AASP-The Palynological Society is an associated society of the Geological Society of America (GSA) and the International Federation of Palynological Societies (IFPS).