Nomination Guidelines

Nomination and Endorsement Deadlines:

Nomination Form Deadline for Technical Field Awards is: 15 January
Endorsement Letter Deadline for Technical Field Awards is: 31 January

Nomination Form Deadline for Medals and Recognitions is: 15 June
Endorsement Letter Deadline for Medals and Recognitions is: 1 July

Below are the general criteria and requirements for Top-Level IEEE award nomination submissions. Specific criteria for each award can be found on the individual award web pages.

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.

Candidate eligibility: Any person may be nominated for a Top-Level IEEE 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 their Council oversees.
• Medal of Honor recipients cannot receive another IEEE Medal
• Medal recipients cannot receive another medal or Technical Field Award for the same work
• Technical Field Award recipients cannot receive another Technical Field Award for the same work but may be elevated to a medal in a future year
• A Top-Level IEEE award recipient is ineligible to receive two Top-Level IEEE 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 the recipient’s death occurs after the IEEE Board of Directors approves the nomination)
• Self-nominations
• IEEE staff

Any person may nominate or endorse a candidate for a Top-Level IEEE 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 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

Consider the citation as it will be used in written correspondence, verbal presentations, and to audiences outside the technical discipline of the medal/award.

• The citation should be complete, correct, and succinct.
• The citation should 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 the gender in the citation.
• Only in exceptional cases should the citation include the name of a particular country where the candidate’s work is especially recognized.

The citation may begin with the following phrases:

• For contributions to (in)…
• For developments in …
• For leadership of (in) …

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