Prize Specifications

Principal Guideline

The SIAM Activity Group on Optimization Best Paper Prize (SIAG/OPT Best Paper Prize), established in 1992, is awarded to the author(s) of the most outstanding paper, as determined by the prize committee, on a topic in optimization published in English in a peer-reviewed journal.

Prize Committee

Formation

The prize committee will consist of a panel of five members of the SIAG/OPT. The Vice Chairperson of the SIAG/OPT during the last year of the award period will serve as chairperson of the committee. The SIAG Chair, in consultation with the other officers, will form a list of people to serve in the other four places on the committee 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, gender, 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 will be from the date of appointment until the date of the prize award.

Rules of Operation

The SIAG/OPT officers and the SIAM office will solicit nominations for the prize from the general membership of the SIAG/OPT and from other members of the scientific community, using SIAM office resources as needed. If a committee member is nominated for the award, the SIAM President will appoint a replacement upon notification by the committee chairperson.

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

Candidate papers must be published in English in a peer-reviewed journal bearing a publication date within the award period. They must contain significant research contributions to the field of optimization, as commonly defined in the mathematical literature, with direct or potential applications.

The chair of the SIAG, the vice chair of the SIAG, 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 selection at least five months prior to the award date. The prize committee must select one paper that determines the prize winner(s). The notification must be accompanied by a written justification and a citation not exceeding 25 words that can be used for a certificate and read at award time.

The SIAM VP will accept or reject the recommendation at least four 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 Award

The Chairperson 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.

Description of the Award

Type

The award will consist of a certificate containing the 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 Period

Beginning in 1995, the prize will be awarded every third year at the triennial SIAM Conference on Optimization. The award period will be the four calendar years preceding the year of the meeting. The overlap in award 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 committee notify the SIAM VP at least five months prior to the awarding of the prize.

Obligations of Recipient

At least one of the awardees is expected to attend the award ceremony and to present the paper at the meeting. Travel funds will be made available to reimburse the speaker for reasonable travel expenses incurred in attending the award ceremony and giving the lecture.

Prize Fund

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

The Award Presentation

The Chairperson of the SIAG/OPT will announce the award at the chosen meeting and present the award to the recipient(s) who is present. The co-author recipient(s) is not required to be present to receive the award.

An announcement of the award recipient(s) will appear in SIAM News and the SIAG/OPT Newsletter.

^[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.