PURPOSE: The Penn State Engineering Alumni Society Outstanding Research Award recognizes and rewards outstanding engineering researchers for accomplishments in advancing the frontiers of knowledge. These research awards are established to confer honor on individuals who, by their contributions to knowledge, have brought recognition to themselves, the College and Penn State. The awardees illustrate the important role that research plays in a comprehensive program of engineering education.

AWARD: The name of the award is "PSEAS Outstanding Research Award." Each recipient receives $500 and a memento. Funding is made possible through annual gifts from Engineering alumni and friends. This award is presented annually. A maximum of five recipients may be selected at the discretion of the selection committee.

ELIGIBILITY: All full-time faculty members of the College of Engineering are eligible.

QUALIFICATIONS: All candidates must have:

• completed at least three years of full-time service at Penn State prior to the nomination;
• demonstrated ability to conduct original research at Penn State;
• developed innovative theories and/or laboratory techniques and instrumentation;
• received acceptance of research results by colleagues and/or industry through citations or applications;
• demonstrated evidence of scholarly contributions to the literature; and
• demonstrated research effectiveness in a manner that substantially exceeds the normal expectation for a faculty member.

NOMINATIONS: Nominations may be initiated by Engineering students, faculty or department heads. Each nomination must, however, be submitted to the head of the candidate’s academic unit for review and approval prior to submission to the Dean’s Office.

Each nomination should consist of:

• a completed nomination form;
• a one-page summary of research conducted at Penn State;
• a letter of nomination from the initiator;
• a letter of support from the department head, if other than the initiator;
• a maximum of three letters of support from academic or industry colleagues;
• each support letter will be a maximum of two pages in length and will have one signature.

SELECTION: Selection will be made by a committee appointed by the Dean of Engineering. The committee will consist of three previous award recipients, two PSEAS Executive Board members and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research.

FREQUENCY: Past recipients are not eligible for a period of three years.

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