Fellow Nomination Guidelines

Definition: The Fellow appointment is an honor bestowed by the Director in recognition of unusual achievement. It can be awarded to fulltime employees who have been at the Laboratory at least two years immediately prior to the nomination deadline.

Criteria: The rank of Fellow is recognition for at least one of the following:

• Sustained, high-level achievements in programs of importance to the Laboratory.
• A fundamental or important discovery that has led to widespread use.
• Having become a recognized authority in the field, including outside recognition and an outstanding record of publications.

Nominations: A call for nominations of Fellow candidates is made annually. Any employee may sponsor a nomination. However, before a great deal of effort is devoted to the nomination package, it is normally useful to propose the nomination to the nominee's current or past Division or Program Director and other appropriate colleagues and peers to obtain their input. The sponsor may find this helpful in the subsequent preparation of the nomination package. A complete nomination package consists of the following parts:

• A table of contents in order of requested material.
• A letter of nomination from the sponsor, which includes a summary of the nominee's achievements and an explanation of their significance.
• No more than 5 letters of endorsement (internal and/or external).
• An up-to-date resumé of the nominee.
• A list of publications that support the nomination criterion or criteria, and, if available, citation index information.

Selection: The nominations are screened by the Fellow Screening Committee, whose members are appointed by the STB Program Director. The Committee's ranking of the nominees and the supporting nomination packages are presented to the Director who makes the final decisions and appointments. The total number of Fellows in regular employment status at the Laboratory is limited to about 2 percent of the Laboratory's Technical Staff Members (TSMs). Most years, the Director can appoint three to five new Fellows. However, in the absence of fully qualified candidates, no appointments will be made.

Diversity: In order to help fulfill the goal of achieving a diverse work force in all aspects, potential nominators are especially encouraged to consider qualified women and members of underrepresented minority groups for nomination.

Additional information: The Fellow rank is not intended to be a part of a formal parallel ladder to management. Fellows are expected to continue to play an important scientific or technical role in the Laboratory, and the intention is for the appointment to enhance this role. A Fellow normally remains a member of a Laboratory technical division or occasionally of a Program Office, where the Fellow receives the financial, administrative, and secretarial support generally provided to TSMs. Specific job assignments for the Fellow are determined with appropriate supervisors.

In general, once appointed, Fellows should not hold formal management positions; however, supervisory roles such as project, section or team leader are acceptable. Managers who wish to accept the rank of Fellow have to be prepared to relinquish their management roles. Fellows who wish, in the future, to take on management roles may take up to a five-year leave from the Fellows' rank without losing their Fellow status. If management tenure is greater than five years, a full renomination is required and is treated as part of the normal screening process.

Unless a fellow enters the management rank for a period exceeding five years and loses the Fellow status, a Laboratory Fellow retains his or her Fellow rank for life and after retirement is covered by the Special Employment Programs for Retired Fellows as described in the Administrative Manual Section AM 1120.

The Director and division or program directors request the opinions and advice of the Fellows individually and sometimes collectively on issues important to the Laboratory. The Fellows meet on their own and consider issues of importance to the Laboratory. Special colloquia and symposia are organized by the Fellows, and there are annual prizes sponsored by the Fellows for outstanding research achievements by members of the Laboratory's technical staff.