Fellows Nomination
The next deadline for fellows nominations is 15 June 2012.
OSA bylaws specify that, "Any regular member who has served with distinction in the advancement of optics is eligible for transfer to the class of fellow." Fellow members are limited to no more than 10% of the OSA membership and the number elected each year is limited to 0.4% of the current membership.
Your participation in identifying worthy nominees is an essential part of the process for recognizing outstanding members. The OSA is a diverse society and its members represent many different facets of optics. There are consequently many factors that may contribute to an individual’s qualifications for elevation to the rank of fellow. No individual is expected to excel in all areas. Within the field of optics and photonics, factors that contribute to qualification for fellowship include:
- Major scientific and technical achievements
- Major inventions and technical innovations
- Technical accomplishments leading to the development or widespread adoption of an important instrument or measurement technique, including the creation of software
- Distinguished and sustained engineering accomplishment
- Outstanding technical management and leadership
- Distinguished and sustained accomplishments as an educator
- Distinguished and sustained service to OSA and/or the global optics and photonics community
- Record of significant publications
- Record of significant patents
- Record of invited papers at key technical meetings
Only OSA Fellows can submit a Fellow nomination. As much as possible, Fellows are encouraged to nominate colleagues from outside their own institution. In any case, the nominator should ensure broad consensus of support for their nominee by soliciting letters of recommendation from outside the nominee's institution.
Just fill out the nomination form online. The supporting material submitted by the nominator may not exceed 10 pages in length (in legible font, single-sided, on regular paper). The 10-page limit does not include the supporting reference letters.
Arrange for at least three (and no more than five) people familiar with the nominee's work to fill out Fellow Reference Forms. The three to five references should be listed on your nomination form and each should complete an online Fellow Reference form to be sent under separate cover to OSA by 15 June. At least one of the referees must be an OSA fellow member.
In an effort to assess nominees in the context of their achievements, nominators will select one of the following categories to best define the nominee’s significant contributions. The committee will consider the general qualifications of nominee within the context of the identified category.
- Engineering, Application and Development
- Education
- Engineering and Science Research
- Technical Leadership
- Volunteer/Professional Service
Nominations are reviewed each summer by the Fellow Members Committee and approved by the OSA Board of Directors at its fall meeting. Elected Fellows are notified in November, with a blind copy of the letter sent to the nominator. For nominees not selected, notification is sent to the nominator (not the nominee). If a nomination is not selected, it can be considered twice more. The Fellow Members Committee strongly encourages nominators to update their nominations* each year during their three-year period of eligibility. The deadline for new material is 15 June. After review by three committees, a nomination is retired.
OSA Fellow Members Committee
Directory of current Fellow Members (Users must be OSA members or part of the FREE Connect program to access the directory.)
Updating a Nomination
*The Fellow Members Committee strongly encourages nominators to update their nominations each year during their three-year period of eligibility. The deadline for new material is 15 June.
It is not necessary to submit a new nomination form or to have references submit new letters. However, the supporting material (e.g. CV or resume) should be updated to reflect recent accomplishments of the nominee.
There is still a limit of 10 pages for the supporting material so it may be necessary to rewrite the material so to remain within the 10 page limit. If the original material is not 10 pages in length, an addendum can be submitted as long as the material together does not exceed 10 pages.
If the existing nomination does not have five supporting references (the maximum number), additional references may be requested/added to bring the total to five.
Any updates can be submitted by mail or sent to awards@osa.org.
