Fellow Nomination
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.
Only current OSA Fellows can submit a Fellow nomination. As far 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.
Please fill out the on-line nomination form below and submit it to OSA. You may also request a nomination form in Word to complete and send to OSA. Either should include documentation on the nominee or the nominee's vita and publications list. The 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 reference letters.
The minimum number of reference letters is three and the maximum number of reference letters accepted is five. The three to five references should be listed on your nomination form and each should be contacted by you and requested to complete a Fellow Reference form to be sent under separate cover to OSA by 15 June. At least one of the references must be a current OSA Fellow and only one should be from the same institution as the nominee.
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. However, the nominator will need to submit an updated vita and publications list by 15 June of the next year. After review by three committees, a nomination is retired.
Additional important information on the process is provided below. If you have questions or to request a nomination form in Word, please contact the OSA Awards Office (awards@osa.org or 1.202.416.1960).
The Fellow Members committee considers the following criteria when evaluating nominations; no individual is expected to meet all of them:
- Record of significant publications related to optics or photonics
- Record of significant patents related to optics or photonics
- Presentation of invited papers at OSA meetings
- Substantial service to OSA or the global optics and photonics community
- An outstanding optics/photonics invention
- Remarkable achievements in optics or photonics
- Development of a new instrument of broadbase use to the optics community
- Use of creative reproduction and manufacturing approaches or development resulting in the widespread adoption of a specific instrument or measurement technique
- Distinguished record of consistent (but not necessarily breakthrough) engineering-oriented ideas or improvements
- Creation of outstanding software
- Outstanding management ability
Nominators should identify which one of OSA Technical Divisions best fits the nominee's work. See http://www.osa.org/join/techgroups/ for a listing of the technical groups under each Division.
In an effort to accurately assess nominees in the context of their achievements, nominators will select the one category that best defines the nominee's significant contributions. The referees should be informed which category you select. The Fellow Members Committee will score the nomination with an emphasis on the identified category.
- Engineering, Application and Development
- Education
- Engineering and Science Research
- Technical Leadership
- Volunteer/Professional Service
Please provide documentation with the following information on the nominee. The supporting material submitted by the nominator is limited to 10 pages in length (not including the reference letters), single-sided, in legible type. The nominee's vita and publications/patents list may serve for this requirement if it does not exceed 10 pages.
- Professional recognition (honors, field of study, degrees awarded, patents awarded)
- Employment history (list employer, position, and dates)
- Publications and patents (list significant work, publications, and patents to support this nomination)
- Areas of professional specialization (list specific optical science and / or engineering professional accomplishments and contributions meriting election to fellowship)
- Principal professional society memberships and activities (indicate membership grade, contributions to the work of the society, important offices held, and committee activities)
- Other noteworthy accomplishments in science, engineering, and public service-service to OSA, scientific societies, boards, committees, consultantships (include dates)
To complete the form you will need the contact information for the candidate, the names and email addresses for the references, the candidate’s OSA technical division, category of achievement and the proposed citation. The file with the supporting material can be downloaded into the form (limit of 10 pages).
Warning: It is not possible to save a partially complete form and return to it later to complete.
Begin the Online Fellow Nomination Form
* Select one (1) of the OSA Technical Divisions that most closely fits the work of the nominee. See Tech Groups for more information on the Divisions.
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