Many scientific societies and similar organisations make awards on an annual or regular basis. It is one way of recognising a distinguished career, contribution to the community, etc., or providing a boost to the development of an Early Career Scientist. In the case of EGU, all awardees are expected to give a presentation of their work; it is a way of generating a stimulating programme at the Annual Meeting.
This only works, however, if the membership become involved in the process of nomination. Division Early Career Scientist nominations are not difficult or time-consuming. It requires only a brief nomination letter, a summary c.v. and a selective bibliography: the whole package being two pages. I have done this on two occasions, and knowing the nominees as I did, gathering the information was straightforward.
Division Medals also require a nomination letter, a brief c.v. and a selected bibliography: a maximum of five pages. The ‘package’ also requires the support of 3 to 5 one-page letters from those in the community. This does take more work and cannot be left to the last minute. I have provided letters of support on two occasions, and it is nice to be asked to do this by the individual making the nomination. Getting the 3 – 5 letters when making a nomination can be a challenge and you really must know your subject community and the best support available for your candidate. I have done this twice: unsuccessful once and successful once! You get over the failure quickly and the reward of being successful is tremendous.
It is important that the EGU community get involved as no award will be made if it is not a competition. There must be at least two viable nominations for each award, so the message is clear: take part in this process and make a success of the EGU Awards schemes.
Detailed information on the selection process and how to propose a candidate is available on the Awards & Medals section of the EGU website. Nominations for all medals and awards must be submitted by online nomination.
