8.8 Excellence in Research Awards (Junior & Senior Faculty)

The "Excellence in Research Awards" were established to recognize Mines' research active faculty members in all disciplines for their outstanding research accomplishments while at Mines. Two awards are presented each academic year, one for a junior faculty member and one for a senior faculty member. Both Tenured/Tenure Track and Research Faculty members will be considered; for the junior award, at the Assistant or Associate levels and for the senior award, at the Assistant, Associate or Full Professor levels.

The Junior Award is for a faculty member with less than 10 years of self-directed (after Ph.D. and postdoctoral training) research time at Mines or another university or research institution. The Senior Award is for a faculty member with 10 or more years of self-directed research. Note that awards are given for research conducted at Mines. Each award will consist of a plaque and a grant of $5,000 for their professional development account to further research initiatives. The awards are jointly sponsored by the offices of the Provost and the Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer.

The Mines Research Council will make the selection on the basis of the significance and quality of research and creative achievements. These include:

  1. Establishment of a thriving research program evidence for which might include a strong publication record, invited conference presentations, national and international awards, and support of graduate and undergraduate research
  2. Outstanding research accomplishments that have received national and/or international recognition
  3. Enhancing the reputation of Mines through their research
  4. Supporting research across campus via intra- and interdepartmental collaborations
     

A Mines faculty member or a Mines department or program can nominate candidates for the award in both categories by:

  • A nomination letter that is no more than two pages in length that summarizes in layperson's terms the nominee's research accomplishments while at Mines. 
  • nominee's CV
  • The faculty member receiving this nomination needs to have had satisfactory annual evaluations overall and in all applicable areas (Teaching, Scholarship and Service) related to the award over the last three years.  In addition, is not currently the subject to a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) or any grievance and therefore is eligible for a faculty award. The nomination packages must include a memo from the Department Head certifying that they are eligible. This memo will not count towards the total number of pages in the actual nomination.

​The council will select up to six candidates, for whom external letters of recommendation will be sought.  For the selected candidates, the faculty member making the nomination will be asked to solicit external letters from three nationally and internationally recognized experts familiar with the nominee's research work.  Up to two award recipients will be selected from the short-list by the Research Council and their names will be forwarded to the Faculty Senate for approval.  The awards will be presented at the April Faculty Awards Ceremony.

Last Revision:

October 1, 2024