Fellow Nomination Guidelines

Definition: The Fellow appointment is an honor bestowed by the Director in recognition of unusual achievement by research and development (R&D) scientists and engineers. It can be awarded to full-time R&D scientists, R&D engineers, R&D managers and Program Managers who have been at the Laboratory a minimum of 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 would be useful to propose the nomination to the candidate's Division Leader 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 completed cover sheet/ADC review form. (Download this form from http://int.lanl.gov/memos/2009/02/MM2281_ADS2424.PDF.) If a classified nomination or reference letter is required for proper consideration of the nominee's package, please note in the table of contents that classified nomination materials are available and provide a contact for making arrangements to view this material. Do NOT send classified material as part of the nomination package.
• A table of contents in order of requested material.
• An unclassified 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.
• The original 3-hole-punched package plus 15 double-sided, 3-hole-punched copies.

Please forward the ADC-reviewed original nomination package and copies to the Science and Technology Base Program Office (STB), Mail Stop M714 by the specified deadline.

Selection: The nominations are screened by a Fellows Screening Committee, whose members are appointed by the STB Program Director in consultation with the Principal Associate Director for Science and Technology. 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 eligible positions.

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

Additional information: Each year many outstanding candidates are nominated for the rank of Laboratory Fellow, each of them meeting at least one of the stated criteria as required. However, many of these candidates not only meet one criterion, but meet all three to a very high degree. In order to prepare the strongest package possible for a candidate, nominators should prepare a classified addendum if such will add substantially to the candidate's nomination (be sure to follow the submission requirements regarding classified materials).

The Screening Committee has the difficult task of determining whom to recommend from an extremely talented field. Often sponsors want to know in what way their unsuccessful candidate was deficient. More often than not, the candidate was not deficient in any manner; instead, their competitors were extremely strong in all three criteria.

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 program office, where the Fellow receives the financial, administrative, and secretarial support generally provided to R&D staff. Specific job assignments for the Fellow are determined with appropriate supervisors.

The Fellows meet and consider issues of importance to the Laboratory. Laboratory leadership from Division Leaders through the Director often request the opinion and advice of the Fellows individually and collectively on issues important to the Laboratory. Special colloquia and symposia are organized by the Fellows, and they sponsor annual prizes for outstanding research and leadership achievements by members of the Laboratory's scientific and engineering staff.