The President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers
The Office of the Vice-President (Research and Innovation) created a new University-wide prize for outstanding emerging researchers in 2013 to encourage and celebrate our most outstanding early-career researchers.Ìý
Description
Up to three President’s Prizes for Outstanding Emerging Researchers will be presented yearly to early-career faculty members (no more than ten years beyond the doctorate or other highest degree*) who have distinguished themselves by their exceptional contributions to research. The President’s Prizes for Outstanding Emerging Researchers is a cash prize. The monetary award for 2024-2025 is $5,000.Ìý
The selection committee will endeavour to ensure that the group of individuals honoured in a given year represents a diversity of research foci and disciplinary or interdisciplinary approaches. The selection committee will also follow Assessment Procedures normative of other internal awards adjudication processes at ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ (e.g., those pertaining to Canada Research Chairs, visit the Guidelines for Faculty CRC Selection Committees webpage for more details).
***Preference will be given to EMERGING nominees, that is, people who have not yet received a major non- discipline-specific external prize or award.***Ìý
Eligibility
Nominees must be no more than ten calendar years beyond their doctorate or other highest degree awarded (2015 or later, for the 2024-2025 competition), be autonomous regarding their research activities and have an academic appointment at ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ University which allows the individual to supervise students and to publish research results.†Ìý
Nominations
Each Dean is invited to make one nomination per year for the President’s Prizes, with the following exceptions for ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ’s largest Faculties:Ìý
Medicine, up to three nominationsÌý
Arts, up to two nominationsÌý
Science, up to two nominationsÌý
Members of the Selection Committee
President or delegateÌý
Vice-President (Research and Innovation) or delegateÌý
Four previous recipients of this award or of other significant research awardsÌý
†Career interruptions such as maternity or paternity leave, extended sick or disability leave, clinical training or family care can be excluded from the ten-year limit and must be explained in the nomination letter. In the case of nominees holding more than one doctorate, the ten-year limit is calculated from the first doctorate awarded.Ìý
Nomination Procedure 2024-2025
Each nomination dossier shall include the following documents:Ìý
• A letter of nomination (maximum three pages) from the Dean of the researcher’s Faculty outlining:Ìý
- o The rationale for the nominationÌý
- o The nominee’s research contributions and promise of future distinctionÌý
- o Why the nominee deserves an award as an outstanding emerging researcher (i.e., people who have not yet received a major non- discipline-specific external prize or award).Ìý
- o Career absences.Ìý
- o Confirmation that the nominee will keep their Faculty’s Spring Convocation date, between May 27 and June 4 (tentative) available until the selection committee has made its decisions, or explain why it is impossible for the nominee to do so.Ìý
• The nominee’s full curriculum vitae (maximum 20 pages), including the following information:Ìý
- o PublicationsÌý
- o Invited lecturesÌý
- o Prizes and awards receivedÌý
- o Graduate students supervisedÌý
• Two letters of reference from individuals who are experts in the nominee’s field.Ìý
- o Referees should not be present or former collaborators of the nominee. (Note: anyone with whom the nominee has co-authored publications or who has supervised the nominee is considered a collaborator of the nominee.)Ìý
- o Referees should be external to ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ UniversityÌý
- o A short biographical note should be included for each referee.Ìý
Ìý
Note: Persuasive letters of nomination and of reference, rather than merely summarizing factual information about the nominee’s scholarly output and publication record, willÌý
- a) explain convincingly to a non-specialist audience the significance of the nominee’s discoveries and work, andÌý
- b) make clear in what way(s) the nominee’s work is especially original, creative, or path-breakingÌý
Nomination dossiers must be received by the Prizes and Awards Officer in the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, Meredith Chatman, no later than Tuesday, February 18, 2025.Ìý
In accordance with the usual practice for nomination-based prizes and awards, nominators and successful nominees (but not unsuccessful nominees) will be informed of the selection committee’s decisions.Ìý
Note: nominees are expected to be available to attend their Faculty’s Spring Convocation between May 27 and June 4 (tentative dates). The letter of nomination must confirm that the nominee will keep these dates available until the selection committee has made its decisions, or explain why it is impossible for the nominee to do so.Ìý