The Edward Stone Award for Outstanding Research Publication

Purpose of the Award

To recognize and encourage publication of significant research results in science and in technology/engineering by JPL employees throughout their professional careers.

 


Nature of the Award

Selected by the Laboratory Director upon recommendation by the Office of Research and Development, the award consists of a certificate of recognition and an award of $10,000 (subject to withholdings). Four (4) awards will be given each year, nominally two in science and two in technology/engineering. In return, each recipient will be asked to give a public lecture to the JPL community related to the work for which they are being recognized. The lectures will be spread throughout the year.

 


Nominations

  1. An annual call for nominations of peer-reviewed publications that made a significant impact during FY’21 or FY’22 and were published between October 1, 2020 and December 31, 2022. Awards will be presented in Summer/Fall 2023. Only papers for which a JPL employee is the lead author will be considered. The award will be made to the lead author.

  2. Technical Division Managers or Program/Project Managers make nominations for the awards. The nomination should include a signed nomination form (Attachment B) and one (1) hardcopy of the publication. In addition, electronic copies of both the nomination form and the technical paper must be provided. There is no limit on how many papers a single manager can nominate.

  3. An Interdisciplinary Panel of researchers with broad scientific, technical and programmatic perspectives will review candidate papers and prioritize them according to the criteria below. The Deputy Chief Scientist will chair the Panel and will work with the Chief Scientist and Chief Technologist to identify the remaining panel members. The panel will recommend up to four nominated papers to the Chief Scientist and Chief Technologist for review and concurrence.

  4. The concurred papers will then be submitted to the JPL Director, who will approve the selected candidates. The JPL Chief Scientist will notify the selected candidates.

 

Required:

  • The publication reported a major scientific advance or technological innovation that had a significant impact in advancing a field of knowledge.
  • The result contributes to, or has contributed to, the achievement of JPL’s significant goals or objectives.
  • The lead contributing author has provided a major intellectual contribution to the publication, deserving an individual recognition.

 

Desired:

  • Opened new scientific, technical, or programmatic opportunities for JPL.
  • Developed or used new tools, methods, or processes that enhanced technical or scientific capabilities and technical innovation.
  • Supported and accelerated the infusion of cutting-edge technology in flight mission or instruments; achievement made a significant breakthrough in a state-of-the-art technology or enabled breakthrough capabilities.
  • Contributed to or enabled technology transfer to a program, project, operation unit, NASA Center, other laboratory, or industry partner.

 

Additional consideration:

One of JPL’s values is to support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). You have the opportunity to address if/how the nomination aligns with our institutional goals for DEI (see https://inclusion.jpl.nasa.gov).

 


Past Recipients

Information on past recipients of the award can be found here.