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John Tyndall Award

Presented for outstanding contributions in any area of optical-fiber technology, including optical fibers themselves, the optical components used in fiber systems, as well as transmission systems and networks using fibers. Contributions should have met the test of time and been of proven benefit to science, technology, or society. The contributions may be experimental or theoretical. This award is jointly presented by Optica and the IEEE Photonics Society. 

View Past Winners.

Submit a nomination.

Deadlines


Nominations: 10 August

References: 10 August

Nominator Requirements

The nominator must be a current Optica or IEEE Photonics Society member.

Nominee Requirements

1. Nominees do not need to be Optica or IEEE Photonics Society members.

2. This award is presented to an individual, joint nominations are not permitted.

3. An individual may not receive more than one society award in a year, nor may an individual receive more than one award for the same body of work.

4. Awards are not presented posthumously, except in the case that the recipient's death occurs after the Selection Committee decision has been made.

Important Note:  The nominee does not participate in the process. To maintain confidentiality, the necessary facts should be obtained from the nominee only if the complete and correct background information is not available elsewhere. Self-nomination is not permitted. We serve a diverse and inclusive community worldwide. Nominees that reflect and support this diversity across all areas including gender, race, educational/institutional background and geography are especially encouraged.

Nomination Requirements

Nomination materials are submitted to the IEEE Photonics Society. The following is needed for a nomination:

  1. Candidate contact information: Name, Affiliation, Mailing Address, Email, Phone Number
     
  2. Academic Background: College or University / Location / Major Field / Degree / Year
     
  3. Academic Honors: List of candidate's highest honors, include IEEE and non-IEEE recognitions
     
  4. Employment Background: Limit of four (4)
     
  5. Accomplishments: Maximum of eight (8) relevant to nomination.  Include: Name of item, date published, name of publication or event, patent number
     
  6. A concise (25 word) proposed citation
     
  7. Nominee’s curriculum vita (Maximum of three (3) pages)
     
  8. Endorsements: Three (3) letters of endorsement are required.  You may enter the endorser's name and email to send an automatically generated email request, or if you have received the endorsement, you can upload directly to the system. (One (1) page limit per endorsement) 
 

The nomination process for this award is managed by IEEE Photonics Society. Please contact Karen Mergner with any questions.

Nomination Do's and Don'ts

Don’t:

  1. Include the nominee in the submission process!
     
  2. Forget to check for spelling errors, typos and grammatical errors.
     
  3. Just cut & paste from the CV/resume. Write a narrative that describes the candidate and their unique and outstanding contributions.
     
  4. Assume that the reviewer knows your candidate well.
     
  5. Use generalizations.
     
  6. Just say your nominee is outstanding – prove it!
Do:
  1. Communicate with your references! Confirm that they are willing to be a reference and will be enthusiastic about your nominee before you add them to the system.
     
  2. Make the narrative clear and easy to read. Consider using bullet points and section headers.

  3. Give specific examples that explain the impact of the nominee’s work.

  4. Proofread your material for typos and mistakes.

  5. Include qualitative and quantitative facts, statistics, metrics, etc.

  6. Avoid providing an extended resume, job description or list of appointments/posts.

 

 

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