Awards and Honors

The Awards and Honors Committee is responsible for choosing the annual EMS awardees (EMS Award, Alexander Hollaender Award, EMS Service Award, Student and New Investigator Travel Awards, and the Alexander Hollaender Student Travel Award).

Vision/Mission Statement

To recognize and promote excellence in: scientific research relevant to the goals of the EMS (EMS Award and Alexander Hollaender Award); service to the EMS (EMS Service Award); and student presentations at the Annual Meeting (Student and New Investigator travel awards and the Alexander Hollaender student travel award). The Awards and Honors Committee is responsible for reviewing the applications and choosing the recipients of these awards.

Committee Composition

The committee should consist of 6–8 members including a chairperson and a past chairperson.

EMS members can view a current Committee roster via EMS Connect.

Business Office Interaction

Award submissions will be collected/received by the Business Office. Submissions will be compiled/organized and distributed for review by the committee. For the EMS Award, The Alexander Hollaender Award and the EMS Service Award, nominations from unsuccessful candidates will be kept on file by the Business Office for 2 years. Updates to the packets will be solicited each year and this material will be given to the Committee, along with new submissions for review.

Charges

Award winner selection: Applications for awards should be received at least 120 days before the Annual Meeting. Notification of Awards should be as soon as possible after that, but at least 90 days before the Annual Meeting.
1. Awards financed by the EMS budget (nominations solicited from the membership): In making its selection for these awards, the committee should consider nominations made in the current year, as well as those made during the past years.
  - EMS Award: Conferred annually in recognition of outstanding research contributions in the area of environmental mutagenesis.
  - Alexander Hollaender Award: Conferred annually in recognition of outstanding contributions in the application of the principles and techniques of environmental mutagenesis to the protection of human health.
  - EMS Service Award: Conferred from time to time in recognition of long-standing dedication and service to the Society.
2. Student and New Investigator Travel Awards financed by the EMS budget and/or outside sources.
  The ultimate goal is to have these awards financially independent of the EMS. The Education, Student, and New Investigator Affairs Committee and the Program Committee are charged with obtaining these funds. The Charge to the Awards and Honors Committee is to Review and Rank order the applicants.
  - Student and New Investigator Travel Awards: Awarded to graduate students and young investigators who are EMS members to attend the EMS Annual Meeting and present a paper or poster. The students may be asked to assist with audio/visual (AV) support and other functions at the Annual Meeting, contribute to the EMS newsletter and serve on EMS committees. In conferring the Student and NewInvestigator Travel Awards, the committee should consider financial need, but this should not be the primary basis for making the award. The committee should also decide what portion of travel expenses should be covered in each case, as well as the more general issues of students from the same lab receiving awards and whether past award recipients can be considered for travel awards.
  - Alexander Hollaender Travel Award: for a student from a developing country currently enrolled in a graduate degree program in the USA or Canada.
Send out announcements of awards that are to be made and invite nominations and applications. Ensure a timely decision to allow award recipients to plan to attend the Annual Meeting, especially as an EMS award lecture could be included as a component in the program. Establish a process for informing students that their application has been received.
Send award letters to recipients of student travel awards; assist the President as needed in preparing award letters for the recipients of the EMS, Alexander Hollaender Awards, EMS Service Award. Include in the letter to each student travel award recipient a special invitation to the student receptions at the Annual Meeting. Notify travel award applicants who were not selected.

Standard Operating Procedures

A list of committee members with phone, fax, and e-mail addresses is essential.
Applications for review will be obtained from the Business Office
An Excel spreadsheet is a useful way to record all the information about applicants including phone numbers,
e-mail addresses and abstract titles; it is useful for "juggling" the amounts of awards within the budget and for preparing lists of winners which are needed for several purposes. This should also be available from the previous Awards Committee chairperson or the Business Office.

Travel Awards

Deadline for applications is determined by the deadline for submission of abstracts for the meeting.

A reasonable time is one week after the meeting abstract deadline.

Applicants need to know whether they have won or not in time to obtain the best airfares for attending the meeting; that can be as much as 10 weeks before the meeting. It is best to inform them, at the very latest, by the first week in September of the year of the meeting.

Prepare report for Executive and Council meetings—two reports a year.

Prepare article for newsletter two times a year.

Current Year Initiatives

Alter timeline for selection and notification of awards.

Secure funding early, so student award recipients have ample time to arrange to attend the Annual Meeting.

Select recipient of EMS award earlier in the year, so recipient can be incorporated into the program of the Annual Meeting.