Prize Specifications

Principal Guideline

The SIAM Activity Group on Analysis of Partial Differential Equations Best Paper Prize (SIAG/APDE Best Paper Prize), established in 2005, is awarded to the author(s) of the most outstanding paper, as determined by the prize committee, on a topic in Partial Differential Equations published in English in a peer-reviewed journal.

The Prize Committee

Formation

The prize committee will consist of five members of the SIAG/APDE. In 2005, the chair of the committee was appointed by the SIAM President upon the recommendation of the SIAG/APDE Chair. Starting in 2007, the Vice Chair of the SIAG/APDE during the last year of the two-year award period will serve as chair of the committee. The SIAG Chair, in consultation with the other officers, will form a list of people to serve in the remaining four places and will submit the list to the SIAM Vice President at Large (SIAM VP) 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, geography, employment sector (industry, national laboratories, universities), and under-represented groups. The appointments will be made at least twelve months in advance of the prize award date.

Tenure

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

Rules of Operations

The SIAG/APDE officers and the SIAM office will solicit nominations for the prize from the general membership of the SIAG/APDE and from other members of the scientific community, using SIAM office resources as needed. Should a committee member be nominated for the award, the chair of the prize committee will notify the SIAM VP who will then appoint a replacement for the committee member in question.

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.

Selection Procedures

Eligibility

A candidate paper must be published in English in a peer-reviewed journal bearing a publication date within the eligibility period. It must contain significant research contributions to the field of analysis of partial differential equations, as commonly defined in the mathematical literature, with direct or potential applications.

The SIAM President, the Chair of the SIAG/APDE, and the members of the prize committee are not eligible to receive the prize.

Recommendation of the Prize Committee

The prize committee will notify the SIAM VP of its recommendation of a winning paper at least five months prior to the award date. The recommendation must be accompanied by a written justification and a citation not exceeding 25 words that can be used in a certificate and read at award time.

The SIAM VP will accept or reject the prize committee's recommendation at least four months prior to the award date.

If the prize committee's recommendation is accepted, the award presentation will be made according to the procedure described below. If the nomination is not accepted, the SIAM VP and the Chair of the Prize Committee will select an acceptable paper at least three months prior to the award date.

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]  

Notification of the Award

The Chair of the Prize Committee will notify the recipient(s) of the award at least three months in advance of the award date. An invitation will also be extended to the recipient(s) to attend the award ceremony to receive the award and to present the paper in a plenary lecture, as described below.

Description of the Award

Award Type

The award will consist of a certificate containing the award citation. If the selected paper has multiple authors, each author will receive a certificate. There will be no cash award associated with the prize.

Award Date and Eligibility Period

Beginning in 2006, the prize will be awarded every second year at the biennial SIAM Conference on Analysis of PDE. The eligibility period will be the four calendar years preceding the year of the meeting. The two-year overlap in eligibility periods is intended to ensure that no paper will fail to be considered because of differences between the official publication date of the journal issue containing the paper and the actual time when that issue reaches its subscribers or because of the requirements that the prize committee notify the SIAM VP of their recommendation at least five months prior to the awarding of the prize.

Obligations of the Award Recipient(s)

At least one of the awardees is expected to attend the award ceremony and to present the paper as a plenary lecture at the meeting. One of the plenary lectures at the meeting will be reserved for this purpose. As for all plenary talks, travel expenses will be available to reimburse the speaker. Should more than one author be involved in presenting the plenary lecture, reimbursement will be made to only one author (selected by the authors).

Prize Fund

Since there is no cash award and minimal expenses are associated with the prize, there will be no prize fund. The cost of the plaque(s) and certificate(s) will be financed by the SIAG/APDE membership dues.

Award Presentation

The Chair of the SIAG/APDE will announce the award at the meeting and present the award to the recipient(s), at least one of whom must be present.

^[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.