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The 2015 CIRES Outstanding Performance Awards Program

CIRES is proud to announce the 16th Annual CIRES Awards Program. Once again, we feature two separate CIRES outstanding achievement awards: the Science and Engineering Award and the Service Award.

The CIRES Outstanding Performance Awards are targeted at projects that are novel, high impact, and show remarkable creativity or resourcefulness.

The Awards Committee, a sub-committee of the CIRES Members' Council (CMC), evaluates the nominations to select candidates who fulfill or exceed the criteria defined below for each award category. The Awards Committee presents their recommendations to the CIRES director and CMC for approval. The CIRES Director makes the final determination of the number of awards to be given. Nominators will be notified in March 2015 whether their candidate was selected for an award.

The following lists the eligible criteria for receiving an award:

  1. Any renewable-term CIRES employee can receive a nomination.
  2. CIRES fellows, visiting scientists, students, and post-docs are not eligible for this award.
  3. Any colleague or associate of a CIRES employee can nominate an individual or team for this award.

The following tips will aid you in the creation of your nomination material:

  1. The quality of the submitted nomination materials is very important. Thus, a clear presentation specifically addressing the awards criteria will help the committee see the outstanding qualities of the candidate more easily.
  2. Supporting documentation could include: an electronic copy of a research paper or patent, a letter of commendation from inside or outside the nominee's work place, a link to a Web page, photos, etc.
  3. The Awards Committee receives many nominations that must be reviewed in a timely manner and thus will not have time to evaluate in detail large quantities of support text, complex Web sites, or lengthy research papers.

You will get a confirmation e-mail after submission. However, if you do not receive a confirmation e-mail, please notify the Awards Committee via e-mail at: awardscom@cires.colorado.edu.

DEADLINE: Nominations must be received by 5:00 PM MST on Friday, February 20, 2015. Nominations received after this deadline will be rejected.

If you have any questions, please e-mail the Awards Committee at: awardscom@cires.colorado.edu. Nominations, supporting material, and references will NOT be accepted via this address.

Science and Engineering Awards

A program designed to recognize CIRES members for outstanding contributions to scientific research or engineering work.

Do you know a CIRES member or team that has made outstanding contributions to scientific research or engineering work, and had a substantial impact within or external to CIRES? If so, this is an opportunity for you to nominate this individual or team for a CIRES award and recognition.

Up to three outstanding CIRES members or teams will be awarded a cash prize up to $2,000 and honored at the annual CIRES Rendezvous.

Award Criteria: In the Science and Engineering category, this may involve any work that is related to the scientific process (forming and testing hypotheses to further our understanding of the environmental sciences).

Examples of such work and description of traits leading to exceptional work include:

  1. Development of new scientific, engineering and/or software tools or models directly resulting in novel research valuable to CIRES and the wider scientific community.
  2. Uncommon initiative, resourcefulness, and/or scientific creativity conducting research with potential to expand or change the direction of a particular field or discipline.
  3. Participation in collaborative and/or multidisciplinary research that engages a broader cross-section than the nominee’s typical scientific or engineering community.
Note: Projects in the Science and Engineering category are often associated with published or forthcoming results in the peer reviewed literature. Please include in the application any relevant scientific references or press coverage the work received.

Service Awards

A program designed to recognize CIRES members for outstanding service in administrative personnel, project/program managers, outreach personnel, Web masters/developers, information technology support personnel, system administrators, user services representatives, writers, library staff, or other work not directly related to scientific research or engineering.

Do you know a CIRES member or team that has performed outstanding service, and had a substantial impact within or external to CIRES? If so this is an opportunity for you to nominate this individual or team for a CIRES award and recognition.

Up to three outstanding CIRES members or teams will be awarded a cash prize up to $2,000 and honored at the annual CIRES Rendezvous.

Award Criteria: In the Service category, this may involve any work that facilitates, supports, enhances, or promotes work in the environmental sciences, such as:

  1. Implementation of a creative or innovative idea, device, process, or system that aids in research, teaching, or outreach at CIRES.
  2. Development or improvement of a service that increases the efficiency, quality, or visibility of scientific research or outreach.
  3. Providing a service that promotes or inspires excellence and dedication to research performed at CIRES or in the wider community.
Note: Projects in the Service category are successful because of the utility they have within the community. Please include any letters of support or supplemental material that may aid the committee in appreciating the value of the service provided.