Call for Nominations

Nomination deadline: March 1, 2012

The NSERC Herzberg Medal will be awarded for both the sustained excellence and overall influence of a body of work conducted in Canada in the natural sciences or engineering. The nominee's work must demonstrate a high degree of expertise, creativity, imagination, leadership, perseverance and dedication.

Eligibility

The recipient must be a scientist or engineer from a Canadian university, government lab or private firm, whose research is primarily based in the fields of the natural sciences and/or engineering.

Candidates may be nominated by any individual or group; however, the nominators must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. Posthumous or self- nominations will not be accepted. Current NSERC Council members are not eligible for nomination.

An individual may win the NSERC Herzberg Medal only once. An individual may be nominated for the NSERC Herzberg Medal and other major NSERC prizes in the same year, but can receive only one such prize in a given year.

NSERC reserves the right to rule on the eligibility of nominees.

Selection Criteria and Evaluation

The nominations will be reviewed on the basis of contributions to the areas of the natural sciences or engineering served by NSERC.

A selection committee of distinguished university, government and corporate research representatives, from a variety of disciplines, will review the nominations and recommend the award winner to the President of NSERC.

How to Nominate

Nominations must include:

1. a brief one-paragraph description of the nominator’s background;



2. a letter or document of up to four pages that clearly describes:
   • the nominee's achievements and how they relate to one or more of these categories:
   • contributions to knowledge;
   • the use of existing knowledge to develop novel solutions to practical problems;
   • the successful promotion or management of research activities;
   • leadership in the transfer of knowledge;
   • the training of highly qualified personnel;
   • other appropriate contributions;
   • the significance, benefit or impact of the nominee’s achievements on society and industry; and
   • the role of the nominee in bringing about the achievements.
     
     The letter should clearly highlight the nominee’s most significant scientific and engineering contributions by referring to the list included with the curriculum vitae (CV) (see item 3);
     
     
3. the nominee's up-to-date CV, which should include detailed information about the contributions and achievements described in the above categories (e.g., lists of works published and highly qualified personnel trained). The CV should contain relevant information over the entire career of the nominee;



4. the names and addresses (including e-mail addresses) of the seven most important people in the nominee’s field (the majority should come from the international community) from whom NSERC may request objective assessments of the nominee's suitability for the award. A brief one-paragraph description of each person’s background and the rationale for the person’s suitability as a referee must be supplied; and
   
   
5. a Consent To Disclosure Form signed by the nominee; The nominee must read and agree to “ What do the electronic or original signatures on the application mean?” (the applicant section would apply).

By signing and submitting a nomination, the nominator(s):

• certifies that the information provided in the nomination documents and related documents is true, complete and accurate to the best of their knowledge;
• consents to the sharing between NSERC and any academic institution to which they are, or may become, affiliated of any and all information, including personal information, in any way related to the nomination and to the grant/award;
• understands the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act (including the Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to NSERC) as they pertain to grant application information;
• attests that others listed on the nomination have agreed to be included;
• certifies that the nominator is not currently ineligible to apply for and/or hold funds from NSERC, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) or any other research funding organization world-wide for reasons of breach of responsible conduct of research policies such as ethics, integrity or financial management policies; and
• certifies that the nominator respects and complies with the  Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service , as required only if they are, or were in the last 12 months, a public servant in the federal government.

For nominations in engineering or the applied sciences, nominators should consult the NSERC Guidelines for the Preparation and Review of Applications in Engineering and the Applied Sciences, and prepare the nominations accordingly.

Please note that letters of support, appendices and other documentation will not be accepted as part of the nomination package.

For re-nominations, nominators are asked to submit a complete and updated nomination package. The list of suggested referees should, preferably, include the names of some individuals not included in a previous nomination.

Nominations may be submitted:

Electronically (New): via NSERC’s Innovative Collaborations and Science Promotion Programs Secure Submissions Web site. It is preferable that documents be submitted in Portable Document Format (PDF).

By mail:     

The NSERC Herzberg Medal
NSERC
350 Albert Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 1H5

By fax:         

613-947-3847

Note: Original signatures are required on documents, but they can still be submitted electronically or by fax.

Conditions

The NSERC Herzberg Medal winner will be asked to confirm, by e-mail or letter, acceptance of the prize and to confirm the ability to use the full value of the accompanying research grant. By drawing on the funds provided through this grant, or by participating in the activities support by it, the winner agrees to comply with the following policies and guidelines, and to any amendments to these that NSERC may adopt:

• The  Responsibility of Researchers (Section 2) of the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research, which is posted on the Secretariat for Responsible Conduct of Research Web site;
• The Program Guide for Professors; and
• The Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.

Announcement

The name of the winner will be officially announced in 2013.