Nomination & Selection Guidelines

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NOTICE: Nominations for the 2024 Fermi Awards closed Monday, July 10, 2023, 5:00 PM ET. The solicitation for 2024 Fermi Nominations is provided below for reference.

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The 2024 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. Established in 1956 by President Eisenhower and the Atomic Energy Commission, the Fermi Award 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 Requirements:

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 Materials

Nominations must be submitted online through the Fermi Awards Nominations System. Required nomination materials include the following:

  • A letter of justification. (Limit 2,000 words.)
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV). (Limit 3,200 words.)
  • A bibliography of significant publications*. (Limit 15 entries, 80-words or less each.)
  • At least three and not more than six letters of support from individuals familiar with the nominee’s work and accomplishments. (Limit 1,200 words each.)
  • A suggested citation summarizing and highlighting the nominee’s achievement. The citation should make clear the specific reason(s) for making the award to the nominee. (Limit 35 words.)

* Note, the bibliography is a separate component from the CV. 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.

Jump to: Nomination System and Preparation of Nomination Materials for additional requirements and guidance.

Nomination Deadline

All nomination materials and support letters for the 2024 Enrico Fermi Award must be received by Monday, July 10, 2023, 5:00 PM ET. No materials will be accepted after the nomination deadline has passed. Nominators are strongly encouraged to begin coordination and submission of nominations well before the deadline.

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Nomination System

Nominations are submitted online through the Fermi Awards Nominations System. A nomination system user account is required to create and submit nominations. Nominators are strongly encouraged to register and begin coordination of nominations well before the deadline. Key guidance based on common questions is provided below.

  • The nomination system guides nominators and letter of support authors regarding account creation and submission steps.
  • The nomination system requires all components of a nomination package to be entered via text input fields. Files, including images, may not be uploaded.
  • The nomination system requires lead and associate nominators to solicit and manage letters of support. Letter of support authors receive an email notification from the online system with instructions to access the system and submit a letter of support. Authors must submit letters in time for the lead nominator to submit the full nomination by the award deadline.
  • Lead nominators, associate nominators, and/or administrative support members are encouraged to create a user account early in the development of a nomination package to become familiar with system and submission requirements.
  • Past nominations remain active for 3 award cycles and will be considered during a current review cycle, provided that the nominee continues to meet all eligibility requirements. Past nominations may be updated while the nomination solicitation is open.
  • Classified information should not be included in any nomination materials.

Jump to: Preparation of Nomination Materials for additional requirements and guidance.

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Fermi Award Assessment Criteria, Merit Review, and Selection

Assessment Criteria  

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?

and,

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 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 (merit reviewers).

Merit reviewers will be established leaders in the topical communities relevant to the award. Reviewers must be independent of the nominees and must comply with all applicable DOE rules or directives concerning the use of outside evaluators. Reviewers are not empaneled as a Federal Advisory Committee and therefore are not asked to form formal consensus opinions regarding nominees under review. Recommendations from reviewers are not binding. Reviewers with a conflict of interest may not participate in the merit review of a nominee. The identity of all reviewers shall remain anonymous, and all nomination and review materials shall remain confidential.

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. Numerical scores, such as rank ordering, are only one component of evaluations used to inform selection officials and will be interpreted within the context of full reviewer evaluations. The reviewers must utilize the Fermi Award online system to document their findings and when making their evaluations.

Selection

Federal Officials will review the nomination packages 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 and documenting 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. A selection recommendation based upon the findings of the peer review will be submitted to the Secretary of Energy for decision. If the Secretary approves the recommendation(s), a request for approval will be made to the President of the United States.

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Preparation of Nomination Materials

When preparing a nomination, it is recommended that nomination materials, in the context of the assessment criteria, convey clear and factual evidence for worthiness, and identify how the nominee’s achievement is related to the DOE and its components. Nominators are encouraged to consider the interdisciplinary nature of the independent merit review panel, and to include a compelling, succinct description of the nature, impact and importance of the nominee’s achievement(s). The submitted nomination materials will provide the sole basis for the reviews.

Letter of Justification

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 achievement(s) underpinning the nomination, and fully describe where and how the achievements have provided leadership and impact related to the DOE and its components. The letter of justification should clearly identify the benefits and relevance of achievement(s) on DOE mission(s) areas and relevant scientific, technological, management, and/or policy communities. As applicable, the letter should also make clear the nominee’s individual contributions, impact, and role to distinguish individual achievement(s) from works that may be part of larger collaborations. (Limit 2,000 words.)

Letters of Support

It is recommended that letters 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 the nomination, and fully describe where and how the achievements have provided leadership and impact related to the DOE and its components. Letters of support should provide additional detail and/or add perspective to the letter of justification which explains the impact(s) and benefit(s) to DOE and relevant scientific, technological, management, and/or policy communities. Briefly identifying how you (letter author) are aware of the nominee and the benefits of the nominee’s work. At least three and not more than six letters of support are required. (Limit 1,200 words each.)

To submit a letter of support: each letter of support author obtains access to the nomination via an electronic (email) invitation process that is initiated by lead nominator(s). Letter authors will receive a Letter of Support Request from the online award system (Award-No-Reply@orau.org) with instructions to access the system and submit a letter of support. Letter authors must submit letters before the lead nominator will be able to finalize and submit a nomination. Letter authors should work with lead nominator(s) to ensure letters are submitted before the deadline. Formatting: Your name, affiliation(s), title(s), contact information, and letter are entered via separate text input fields. No files or images (including headers or signature blocks) may be uploaded.

Jump to: Nomination System for additional information on submitting a letter of support.

Citation

The suggested citation should summarize and highlight the nominee’s achievement(s) and should generally be based on the high-level accomplishments and impacts described in the letter of justification. (Limit 35 words.)

Bibliography of Significant Publications

Provide a bibliography of significant publications related to the achievement(s) underlying the nomination. 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. (Limit 15 entries; 80 words each.)

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

In the CV, provide information that can be used by the interdisciplinary panel to evaluate the nominee’s worthiness for selection in the context of the assessment criteria. Please include the nominee’s:

  • Employment background and history, including positions held and brief descriptions.
  • Academic background and training.
  • Professional honors.
  • Record of professional, government, and/or service activities including roles and responsibilities.
  • Record of principal publications not already included in the bibliography.
  • Additional significant and relevant contributions of interest including, but not limited to, invited talks, policy initiatives, testimony, scientific and technological management, patents, copyrights, software or hardware systems development, evidence of technological innovations in areas applicable to the nomination, mentoring, and any other substantial professional leadership or service experiences.
  • Do not include personally identifiable information (PII) such as date of birth, social security number, etc. in the CV.
  • (Limit 3,200 words.)

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Additional Information

For additional information please visit the homepage.

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

The Enrico Fermi Award is administered by the Department of Energy's Office of Science on behalf of the Secretary and 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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