Nomination & Selection Guidelines

Jump to: Nomination Guidelines | Fermi Award Assessment Criteria, Merit Review, and Selection | Preparation of Nomination Materials | Additional Information

Announcements: President Joe Biden announced the selection of Dr. Darleane C. Hoffman and Dr. Gabor A. Somorjai as recipients of the prestigious Enrico Fermi Award for groundbreaking achievements in science. For information about the 2023 Laureates visit here.

Inspired to submit a nomination? The Department of Energy is not seeking nominations for the Fermi Award at this time.

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The solicitation for 2020 Nominations is provided below for reference.

The 2020 Enrico Fermi Award Nomination Guidelines

The Fermi Award is bestowed by the President of the United States to an individual or individuals of international stature in recognition of exceptional scientific, technical, policy, and/or management achievements related to the broad missions of the U.S. Department of Energy and its programs.  The award, established in 1954 by President Eisenhower and the Atomic Energy Commission, is given to inspire people of all ages, through the examples of Enrico Fermi, the 1938 Nobel Laureate in physics, and the Fermi Award laureates who followed in his footsteps, to explore and open new scientific and technological realms. The Fermi Award is administered on behalf of the White House by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. A Fermi Award laureate receives:

  • A citation signed by the President of the United States and the Secretary of Energy;
  • A gold-plated medal bearing the likeness of Enrico Fermi; and
  • A $100,000 honorarium (if there is more than one laureate named, the honorarium is shared equally).

Eligibility Guidelines:

The Fermi Award is given for distinguished achievement, leadership, and service related to all basic and applied research, science, and technology supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and its programs.

  • The achievements must be identifiable as lasting, impactful, and substantial.
  • Only living nominees will be considered.
  • The Fermi Award is not limited to U.S. citizens.
  • The Fermi Award is not limited to researchers whose work has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (or its predecessor agencies).

Nomination

Nomination is made online at https://apps.orau.gov/Award/Fermi. The online nomination system will guide nominators, or letter of support writers, regarding submission of the required nomination materials, which are:

  • A letter of justification. (Limited to 2,000 words.)
  • Curriculum vitae. (Limited to 3,200 words.)
  • A bibliography of significant publications*. (Limited to 15 entries, 80 words or less each.)
  • At least three and not more than six Letters of Support from individuals familiar with the work. (Limited to 1,200 words each.)
  • A suggested citation, thirty-five words or less, summarizing and highlighting the nominee’s achievement.

*Please omit any secondary publications and non-archival materials from the nominee’s bibliography and do not include complete articles as part of the nomination.

A nomination system user account is required to create/update and submit nominations. Account creation providing access to the nomination system, and guidance on using this online system, is available at https://apps.orau.gov/Award/Fermi. During an open nomination solicitation, the online system requires nominators to input all required elements comprising a nomination package as text input fields. Past nominations remain active and will be considered during a current review cycle, provided that the nominee continues to fulfill all eligibility requirements. Past nominations may be updated while the nomination solicitation is open. This system also includes capabilities to solicit and manage Letters of Support. Letter authors will receive an email notification from the online system to access text input fields, and following submission, these inputs become part of the nomination package as Letters of Support.

Nomination Deadline

All nomination materials and support letters for the 2020 Enrico Fermi Award must be received by Thursday, April 16, 2020, 5:00 PM ET. No materials will be accepted after the nomination deadline has passed.

Additional Information

For additional information please visit: https://science.osti.gov/fermi/.

Questions about the Enrico Fermi Award may be addressed to: SCFermi.Award@science.doe.gov.

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Fermi Award Assessment Criteria, Merit Review, and Selection

The award is given for outstanding contributions and achievements that are particularly distinguished and demonstrate scientific, technical, management and/or policy leadership related to all basic and applied research, science, and technology supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and its programs. Such contributions and achievements (i) must show significant innovation and discovery; (ii) must be identifiable as lasting, impactful and substantial; and (iii) must demonstrate prominent scientific, technical, management or policy leadership. The nominees will be assessed using the following criteria:

1) Scientific and/or technical merit and impact of the discovery or innovation:

Consider, for example, the influence that the achievement has had on the direction, progress, and thinking in relevant scientific and technological fields of research and/or mission area. How has the achievement generated and fostered new valuable results or solved a critical outstanding problem; how does the significance of the scientific/technical innovation and originality rank with respect to its field; is the work identifiable as lasting, impactful and substantial; does it provide leadership and broad benefit; what impact has the contribution had on DOE mission areas and how is it related to the DOE and its components? 

and/or, 

2) Management and/or policy impact of the achievement:

Consider, for example, the influence that the achievement has had on the management and/or the scientific policy formulation for research and/or mission area, especially when accompanied by important scientific and technological contributions. Does it provide lasting leadership and broad benefit; what impact has the contribution had on DOE mission areas and how is it related to the DOE and its components? How has the nominee inspired others through their unstinting dedication or service?

3) Performance metrics supporting the significance and quality of the nominee’s achievement:

Consider, for example, the impact, quantity and quality of the body of cited work, patents, or widespread application that directly resulted from the nominee’s achievement. Has the achievement been recognized by peers through other notable awards or accolades received by the nominee or others working in the same or related discipline?

Merit Review

To be considered, a nominee must meet all eligibility criteria and have a nomination package comprising all required materials. To assess eligibility, and prior to the comprehensive merit evaluation, an initial review of all nomination packages will be conducted by the Office of Science, Fermi Award Program Manager (or designee). Only those nominees meeting all requirements will be advanced for merit review.

The nomination materials uploaded and received through the electronic submission process will provide the sole basis for the review. The nomination materials for all eligible nominees will be objectively studied by an independent peer review panel and if worthy candidate(s) are identified in the peer review, then a selection recommendation based upon these findings will be forwarded to the Secretary of Energy. If the Secretary approves the recommendation, a request for concurrence on the awardees will be made to the President of the United States, who holds final discretion over the selection(s).

The merit review will comprise a thorough, consistent, and objective examination of eligible applicants based on pre-established criteria by persons, selected by Federal Officials, to serve as evaluators. These evaluators must be independent of the nominees, must comply with all applicable DOE rules or directives concerning the use of outside evaluators, and shall be established leaders in the topical communities relevant to the award. The reviewers are not empaneled as a Federal Advisory Committee. The identity of all reviewers shall remain anonymous, and all nomination and review materials shall remain confidential. All merit reviewers serve as evaluators and their recommendations are not binding. Each nominee will be evaluated by no fewer than three reviewers. Based upon the assessment criteria, each merit reviewer shall document each nominee’s strengths and weaknesses. As part of their evaluation, each reviewer shall also provide their overall individual assessment of the nominees in the form of a rank ordering. The reviewers must utilize the Fermi Award online system to document their findings and when making their evaluations. Reviewers with a conflict of interest may not participate in the merit review of a nominee. DOE employees must comply with regulations governing conduct of employees codified in 10 CFR Part 1010 and Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch at 5 CFR Part 2635.

Selection

Federal Officials will review the nomination packages and the reviewer’s final evaluations, and analyze each reviewer’s independent evaluation of, and recommendation regarding, the nominations submitted. Using this analysis, Federal Officials will prepare a Selection Statement identifying those nominees, if any, being recommended for the award. The Selection Statement will document the rationale supporting the recommendations. The selection of any awardees is made first at the discretion of the Secretary of Energy, with final selection at the discretion of the President of the United States. DOE employees must comply with regulations governing conduct of employees codified in 10 CFR Part 1010 and Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch at 5 CFR Part 2635.

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Preparation of Nomination Materials

When preparing a nomination, it is recommended that the requested materials, in the context of the assessment criteria, convey clear and factual evidence for worthiness, also identifying how the nominee’s achievement is related to the DOE and its components. The submitted nomination materials will provide the sole basis for the reviews.

Justification Letter

It is recommended that the Letter of Justification, in the context of the award’s assessment criteria, highlight the nominee’s outstanding scientific, technological, management, and/or policy achievements underpinning this nomination, and fully describe where and how the achievements have provided leadership and impact related to the DOE and its components. The Justification Letter is limited to 2,000 words.

Supporting Letters

It is recommended that the Letter of Support, in the context of the award’s assessment criteria, highlight the nominee’s outstanding scientific, technological, management, and/or policy achievement(s) underpinning this nomination, and fully describe where and how the achievements have provided leadership and impact related to the DOE and its components.  Briefly identifying how you are aware of the nominee and their work is also beneficial. At least three and not more than six Letters of Support are required. Letters of Support are limited to 1,200 words each.

Citation

The suggested citation (thirty-five words maximum) should summarize and highlight the nominee’s achievement(s) and should generally be based on the high-level research accomplishments and impacts described in the Letter of Justification.

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

In the CV, please include the:

  • Nominee’s employment background and history, including positions held.
  • Nominee’s academic background.
  • Nominee’s professional honors.
  • Nominee’s record of professional, government, and/or service activities including roles and responsibilities.
  • Nominee’s record of principal publications.
  • Nominee’s other significant and relevant contributions (e.g., invited talks, patents, policy initiatives, testimony, scientific and technological management, etc.).

Please also ensure the CV does not contain any personally identifiable information (PII) such as date of birth, social security number, etc. The CV is limited to 3,200 words.

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Bibliography of Significant Publications

Please omit any secondary publications and non-archival materials from the nominee’s bibliography and do not include complete articles as part of the nomination. This bibliography is limited to 15 entries, 80 words or less each.

Additional Information

For additional information please visit: https://science.osti.gov/fermi/.

Questions about the Enrico Fermi Award may be addressed to: SCFermi.Award@science.doe.gov.

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