Prize Specifications

Principal Guideline

The SIAM Activity Group on Orthogonal Polynomials and Special Functions (SIAG/OPSF) awards the Gábor Szegö Prize every two years to an early-career researcher for outstanding research contributions, as determined by the prize committee, in the area of orthogonal polynomials and special functions. The contributions must be contained in a paper or papers published in English in peer-reviewed journals.

Nominations

Eligibility

This prize is intended for an early career researcher. The prize can only be awarded to a researcher who has at most 10 years (full time equivalent) of involvement in mathematics since PhD at the award date, allowing for breaks in continuity, or who in the opinion of the prize committee is at an equivalent stage in their career.

Submissions

A valid nomination requires:

1. A letter of nomination signed by two (2) members of the SIAG; and
2. A curriculum vitae (CV) of the nominee.

Letters of nomination should indicate the paper(s) cited for the work being recognized, explain the significance of the work, and (especially in the case of multiple authors) indicate the contribution of each of the individuals nominated.

Prize Committee

Formation

The prize committee will be composed of five members, including the Chair of the SIAG/OPSF and at least two members of the SIAG.

The SIAG Chair, in consultation with the other officers, will form a list of people to serve on the prize selection committee and will submit the list to the SIAM Vice President-at-Large for approval prior to inviting the committee members to serve. The SIAG officers will seek to ensure a diverse composition of the prize committee in research area, gender, geography, employment sector (industry, national laboratories, universities), and under-represented groups.

Tenure of the Prize Committee

The term of office will be from the date of appointment until the date of the award.

Rules of Operation

The SIAG/OPSF officers and the SIAM office will solicit nominations for the prize from the general membership of the SIAG/OPSF, using SIAM office resources as needed.

The prize committee will follow the ‘best practices’ set out in the SIAM document for Selection Committees. The prize committee will follow the SIAM rules for conflict of interest as posted on the SIAM web site.

The Selection Committee has the authority to choose to abstain from giving the award if there is no acceptable individual. If the award is not given for this reason, a new selection committee will be selected for the next award cycle.[1]  

Selection Procedures

Timeline and Approval Process

The timeline for making the selection is driven by the need to inform the prize winner in sufficient time, so that there is a reasonable expectation that the recipient can make arrangements to attend the prize session. The following guidelines will be used by the prize committee and administrators:

• Prize committee formed about 18 months prior to award date.
• Prize committee makes recommendation to Vice President-at-Large about 8 months prior to award date.
• Winner is notified about 6 months prior to award date.

Notification of Award

Upon approval by the SIAM Vice President-at-Large, the SIAG/OPSF Chair or his/her designee will notify the award recipient(s) within two weeks of approval.

Description of Award

The award will consist of a certificate containing the citation. As part of the award, the recipient will be invited to give a plenary lecture at the International Symposium on Orthogonal Polynomials, Special Functions, and Applications (OPSFA). Travel funds will be made available to reimburse the recipient for reasonable travel expenses incurred in attending the award ceremony and giving the talk. SIAM will cover expenses for travel to and from the OPSFA conference and the OPSFA conference will waive the conference registrations fee and cover local accommodation costs.

Award Date and Eligibility Period

This prize will be awarded every two years.

Prize Fund

Since there is no cash award and minimal expenses are associated with the prize, there will be no prize fund.

Award Presentation

The award will be presented at the International Symposium on Orthogonal Polynomials, Special Functions, and Applications (OPSFA) where the award recipient will also deliver an invited lecture, The Gábor Szegö Lecture.

^[1] An award decision will also be postponed to the next cycle if the number of nominations does not meet the required number to forward to the selection committee. See SIAM Prize Policy for more information.