Major Awards Committee

The Major Awards Committee (MAC) is responsible for all prizes awarded by SIAM or its activity groups, whether alone or jointly with other organizations, and for nominees by SIAM for awards given by other organizations.

View All SIAM Prizes

Current Members

Chair
Xiaoye Sherry Li, LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY

Ex Officio
Karen Devine, SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES
Sven Leyffer, ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY
Carol Woodward, LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LAB

Members
Bruce Hendrickson, LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LAB
Jesús María Sanz-Serna, UNIVERSIDAD CARLOS III DE MADRID
Jack Xin, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Additional Details

Purpose

To provide for the planning and management of all aspects of major awards that are or should be of concern to SIAM.

Scope

The Major Awards Committee (MAC) is responsible for all prizes awarded by SIAM or its activity groups, whether alone or jointly with other organizations, and for nominees by SIAM for awards given by other organizations.

The list of SIAM prizes and those awarded jointly with other organizations is posted here.

Responsibilities
  1. MAC is responsible for maintaining the specifications for each prize.
  2. MAC is responsible for planning and oversight of all SIAM prizes and awards. 
    • MAC reports to the SIAM Council. The SIAM Council and Board of Trustees must approve, upon recommendation by MAC, changes to prize specifications, the addition of new prizes, or the termination of existing prizes.
    • MAC is the body that prepares for the Council and Board any recommendations to changes to the SIAM awards program.
  3. MAC makes recommendations to the SIAM President for staffing prize selection committees.
    • The SIAM President has the authority to appoint members of prize selection committees according to the SIAM Bylaws. The SIAM President relies on the committee for suggestions to fill the various prize selection committees.
  4. MAC serves as the Selection Committee for the SIAM Prize for Distinguished Service to the Profession.
  5. MAC oversees the process for selecting the recipients of SIAM Student Travel Grants.
  6. The Major Awards Committee (MAC) is responsible for appointing the members of the Fellows Selection Committee. Appointments to the Fellows Selection Committee are normally made at the summer meeting of the MAC; terms on the Fellows Selection Committee are for two years, beginning on September 1 of the year the appointments are made. As a consequence of this responsibility, MAC members are not eligible to be nominated to become a fellow while serving on the MAC.
Structure

MAC is chaired by the Vice President at Large and has the following ex-officio members: the President, the Past President (or President Elect), the Vice President at Large, and the Secretary. In addition, MAC shall have three at-large members who are appointed by the President for three year terms. One new member is to be appointed each year. For this committee, appointed members normally serve one three-year term; that is, consecutive terms are normally not allowed on this committee.

The SIAM President, in consultation with the SIAM Secretary, shall make the at-large appointments to this committee. Committee membership should reflect the breadth and diversity of the Society. Committee members should have broad knowledge of the Society and its members.

Procedure

MAC normally carries out its responsibility via e-mail and telephone conference calls. It may meet once a year at the SIAM Annual Meeting.

MAC will review the SIAM prizes annually and consider whether any changes to the SIAM awards program should be made. All recommendations for change are forwarded to the Council for approval. Any change that affects monetary aspects of a prize or the SIAM budget also requires approval by the SIAM Board of Trustees.

Proposals for new prizes (whether SIAM or joint) will be screened by MAC and forwarded to the Council and the Board of Trustees with recommendations for action. The Committee itself may initiate the development of prizes or create an ad hoc committee for this purpose. In any case, final approval rests with the Council and Board of Trustees.

MAC will nominate annually the recipient of the SIAM Prize for Distinguished Service to the Profession and forward this nomination to the Executive Committee of the Council at least eight months prior to the date of the award.

The selection of student travel fund recipients is administered by the Vice President at Large with oversight by MAC.

SIAM Staff Support

The Office of the Chief Executive Officer will provide support for this Committee.