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.
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