Criteria and Procedures

The deadline for award nominations was July 30, 2008.

• All nominations received will be submitted to the Awards Committee.
• Nominations will not be accepted from a member who is a direct subordinate of the nominee.
• No nomination submitted after the deadline will be considered for the current year awards.
• Late nominations and nominees who did not win awards will be retained for consideration during the next year’s award cycle.
• The nomination form is limited to one page and include the following items:
  • Name, position, address and affiliation of the nominee
  • Title of award
  • Citation (3 lines maximum)
  • Description of the accomplishments for which the nomination is being made, including applicability to specific award under consideration.
• A formal letter must accompany the nomination and should include:
  • Name, affiliation and address of the submitter
  • Date of submission
  • Supporting material for nominee: i.e., curriculum vitae not to exceed 2 pages (desirable, but not mandatory).
• Other letters co-sponsoring the nomination may be submitted.
• Nominations by members of the Committee must be documented in this same manner.

Note: Go to the Brouwer Award to see specific nomination criteria for that award.

Generally, AAS Awards will be bestowed for meritorious accomplishments during the previous year. However, meritorious accomplishments prior to then, not previously honored by AAS award recognition, are equally acceptable and will receive full consideration. Likewise, accomplishments of an individual over a sustained period of time will be sufficient to merit the granting of any relevant AAS award.

From nominations received, the AAS Awards Committee will select only one candidate for each award. The Awards Committee will attempt to independently verify, where possible, the credibility of the selected nominations and the supporting material. The Awards Committee will submit the names of the recommended nominees, with supporting citations, to AAS Officers and Directors for election.

For each award, the option is open for deciding that no award shall be made for any one year. As appropriate, the Awards Committee is authorized to make such recommendations to the AAS Board of Directors, which shall have the authority to make the final decision.

As a rule, any nominee who received an AAS award within the preceding 3 years will not be considered for additional awards.

Please note: The recipient of the Eugene M. Emme Astronautical Literature Award is selected by the AAS History Committee which solicits books for nomination and then selects the winning book each year. The Dirk Brouwer Award is selected by the Space Flight Mechanics Committee. The Carl Sagan Memorial Award is selected by a joint committee of the AAS and The Planetary Society.

Nomination materials should be sent as Word attachments to aas@astronautical.org (preferred) or mailed to:
American Astronautical Society
6352 Rolling Mill Place, Suite 102
Springfield, VA 22152-2354