IEEE-Level Award Nomination and Submission Guidelines

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General award criteria

The following criteria are reviewed when selecting a recipient:
• leadership in field;
• breadth of work;
• achievement in other fields;
• inventive value (patents);
• individual vs. group contribution;
• publications (articles, etc.);
• originality of contribution;
• quality of nomination;
• IEEE Society activities and honors;
• quality of endorsements.

The importance of the quality of the nomination itself, and of the supporting endorsement letters, cannot be overemphasized. The nomination and endorsements should be as specific, accurate, and complete as possible. It is imperative that the true merits of the candidate be conveyed through this information. Keep in mind that in some cases those involved in the selection process may have no personal knowledge of the candidate and will lean heavily on the documentation for the information they need to make reasonable judgments.

Download suggestions for preparing a successful nomination (PDF, 16 KB)

Download a list of IEEE-level awards by technical discipline (PDF, 144 KB)

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Candidate and nominator eligibility

Candidate Eligibility: Any person may be nominated for an IEEE-level award, regardless of IEEE membership, with the following exceptions:
• Members of the IEEE Board of Directors
• Members of the IEEE Awards Board
• Members of the IEEE Awards Council – Chairs of the selection committees who sit on a Council are not eligible for an award that their Council oversees.
• Medal of Honor recipients (PDF, 115 KB) cannot receive another IEEE Medal.
• Medal recipients cannot receive another Medal or Technical Field Award for the same work.
• Technical Field Awards recipients cannot receive another Technical Field Award for the same work but may be elevated to a Medal in a future year.
• An IEEE-level award recipient is ineligible to receive two IEEE-level awards in the same year.
• Award Selection Committee members cannot be considered while serving on a relevant board or committee.
• Deceased persons (Exception: an award may be presented posthumously if recipient's death occurs after the IEEE Board of Directors approves the nomination.)
• Self-nominations
• IEEE staff

Nominator and Endorser Eligibility: Any person may nominate or endorse a candidate for an IEEE-level award, regardless of IEEE membership, with the following exceptions:
• Members of the IEEE Board of Directors
• IEEE Annual Election candidates
• Members of the IEEE Awards Board
• Members of the IEEE Awards Council – Chairs of the selection committees who sit on a Council are not eligible for an award that their Council oversees.
• Award Selection Committee members, while serving on a relevant committee.
• Self-nominations
• IEEE staff
• The nominator may not also act as an endorser.

Special circumstances:
• IEEE Corporate Innovation Award candidates may be self-nominated by staff from that organization.

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Submission process for IEEE-level award nominations

Following is the process for submitting a complete nomination.
• Review the eligibility requirements of nominators, endorsers, and candidates. Search the list of past IEEE-level award recipients (PDF, 236 KB) to determine the eligibility of the candidate(s) as mentioned above.

• Download the nomination form for the necessary number of candidates from the appropriate award Web page.

Nominators must complete the nomination form and submit it via e-mail in .pdf or .doc format to awards@ieee.org before the nomination deadline.

• Endorsers must submit their letters of support via e-mail in .pdf or .doc format to awards@ieee.org before the nomination deadline. Endorsers should identify the name of the award and the candidate in the subject line of the email. A minimum of three and maximum of five endorsement letters will be reviewed by the selection committee, as listed on the nomination form. (Exceptions: IEEE James H. Mulligan Education Medal, IEEE Undergraduate Teaching Award, IEEE Leon K. Kirchmayer Graduate Teaching Award. See the nomination forms for specific instructions.)

• Nomination deadlines:

   - 31 January – IEEE Technical Field Awards
   - 1 July – IEEE Medals and IEEE Recognitions
   - 15 November – IEEE Charles LeGeyt Fortescue Graduate Scholarship and IEEE Life Member Graduate Study Fellowship in Electrical Engineering

• After the nomination deadline, nominations are reviewed by the selection committees and recommendations for award recipients are made. The committee recommendations are endorsed by the award Council and the IEEE Awards Board, and then submitted to the IEEE Board of Directors for final approval. Shortly thereafter, the award recipients are advised that they have been selected. The nominators are copied on these notifications. It is the nominator’s responsibility to inform the endorsers as appropriate.

• Nominators of remaining award candidates will be notified whether their candidate(s) has been:
   - Reconsidered: The nomination will be reviewed by the selection committee the following year as it currently stands. The nominator and endorsers have the option to update the materials, but this is not required.
   - Resubmitted: The nomination must be revised and resubmitted in order for the selection committee to review it the following year. Feedback may be provided as to how to strengthen the nomination.
   - Withdrawn: The nomination is withdrawn from consideration the following year.

• Nominators of IEEE Technical Field Award candidates will receive notification of the status of their candidate(s) in late June/early July.

• Nominators of IEEE Medal and Recognition candidates will receive notification of the status of their candidate(s) in late November/early December.

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Guidelines for completing the nomination form

Note that the numbers of the following items may not correspond exactly to the nomination form and should only be used as guidance.

For awards allowing multiple-recipient or team nominations, questions 1-5 apply to the individuals nominated, and the remaining questions pertain to the group. See the individual award Web page for eligibility of team nominations. Download the .doc form with the appropriate candidate space allotted, or download the .pdf form and complete questions 1-5 per candidate as needed.

It is important that the nominator selects the award name from the drop down menu or types the award name at the top of the form.

1. Candidate information: (All fields are required.) Provide complete name of candidate, not initials. Avoid abbreviations. Provide complete and accurate business title and affiliation. The listed address and email address may be for business or personal.

2. Higher education: List a maximum of four degrees. Include the institution name, location, degree, year conferred, and any honors. Denote honorary degrees as (H).

3. Principal employment: Begin with candidate's present occupation followed by relevant previous career experience. Indicate name of employer, positions held, year(s), and a one-sentence description of the candidate’s responsibilities. If necessary to accommodate space limitations, cite only principal positions.

4. Principal honors: Cite the candidate’s four highest honors including IEEE and non-IEEE recognitions. These can include awards, recognitions, volunteer positions of leadership, etc.

5. Most significant publications, programs, products, and patents: Cite a maximum of eight evidences of accomplishment relevant to the nomination. Include the name of the item, date published or announcement, name of the publication or event, and/or patent numbers.

6. Proposed citation: (This is a required field.) Consider the citation as it will be used in written correspondence, verbal presentations, and to audiences outside the technical discipline of the award. The proposed citation should:
• be complete, correct, and succinct;
• be concise, approximately 15 words in length (maximum of 20 words);
• avoid superfluous phrases such as “outstanding” since the recipient’s and/or alternate’s work must be outstanding to fulfill the requirements for the Award/Medal/Recognition;
• avoid the word “invention.” Evidence of discovery and/or invention may be difficult to prove.
• avoid references to specific companies and organizations;
• avoid specifying gender in the citation;
• avoid the inclusion of the name of a particular country; (Exception: cases where the candidate’s work is especially recognized.)
• may begin with the following phrases:
   - "For contributions to (in)..."
   - "For developments in ..."
   - "For leadership of (in) ...".

7. Specific accomplishments associated with this nomination and citation: (This is a required field.) Name specific accomplishments the candidate has made over the course of his/her career or project related to this award. Space is limited to 5,000 characters (approximately 600 words).

8. Economic, technical, professional, or societal impact of contributions: (This is a required field.) Cite specific examples of the long-term impact the candidate’s achievements related to this nomination have made. This section should expand upon the specific accomplishments cited in section 7 of the nomination form. Space is limited to 3,000 characters (approximately 400 words).

9. Endorsers: (These fields are required.) An endorser should be in a position to substantiate the candidate's contribution(s) by providing explicit detail from personal knowledge. It is the nominator's responsibility to ensure that the endorsers submit the promised letters. The nominator may not act as an endorser and should not be listed in this section.

A minimum of three letters and a maximum of five letters are required for each nomination. Endorsers should submit their letters via e-mail in .pdf or .doc format to awards@ieee.org. Include the name of the award and the candidate in the subject line. Endorsement letters must be received by the nomination deadline.

10. Suggested presentation location: (This is a required field for Technical Field Award nominations.) IEEE Technical Field Awards are presented during IEEE sponsored conferences, symposiums, or meetings. Provide one suggested presentation venue appropriate to the scope of the award and the candidate’s achievements. List the complete name of the event and the acronym if appropriate, not just the regional preference for presentation. (Note: IEEE Medals and Recognitions are typically presented at the IEEE Honors Ceremony, so this information is not requested on the nomination form.)

11. Nominator information. (All fields are required.) Business or personal contact information is accepted.

12. Submission: All documents should be submitted via e-mail in .pdf or .doc format to awards@ieee.org. All documents must be received by the IEEE Awards Department by the nomination deadline for consideration for the following presentation year. Attached pages are not permitted.

Contact the IEEE Awards Department with questions:
IEEE Awards Activities
445 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
Email: awards@ieee.org
Phone: +1 732 562 3844
Fax: +1 732 562 9019

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