Prize Specifications

Principal Guidelines

This prize, established in 1967, is awarded jointly by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and the American Mathematical Society (AMS). It is awarded for an outstanding contribution to applied mathematics in the highest and broadest sense.

Prize Committee

The committee is an ad hoc committee appointed jointly by the presidents of AMS and SIAM. The committee has three members, one designated as chair. Committee appointments should be made at least one year before the prize award date. The secretary of the AMS has the responsibility to notify the presidents of AMS and SIAM to make the appointments.

Committee members will be members of SIAM and/or the AMS. At least one of the members will be a SIAM member.

The committee is to report its findings at least three months before the prize award date.

The committee completes its duties with the awarding of the prize. If the committee reports that no prize can be awarded and this report is accepted by the Executive Committee of the SIAM Council and the appropriate body of the AMS, then the duties of the committee will be completed.

The committee will determine its own rules of operation.

Selection Procedures

Eligibility

The recipients of this prize must be members of AMS and/or SIAM.

Nominations

Nominees for this award with written justification should be submitted by the prize committee to the Executive Committee of the SIAM Council and to the appropriate body of AMS. More than one nominee may be submitted for this award. Each of these two bodies must accept the nominations. Objection to a nominee by either one of the two societies will nullify the nomination. If a nominee is rejected by AMS and/or SIAM, the prize committee may be requested to propose a second nominee. If no candidate is found for the prize in any presentation year, the prize award date moves forward three years.

Following approval of the nominations for the prize, the ad hoc committee for the prize will select the prize recipient from the approved list of nominees.

Award Date

The prize will be given every three years

Prize Funds

The original funds for the Birkhoff prize were donated by the Birkhoff family.

The funds are held and managed by the AMS.

Award Presentation

This award is normally presented at meetings of the AMS. From time to time the presentations can be made at a SIAM meeting. This occasion will be arranged by the SIAM Vice President for Programs, the SIAM Vice President-at-Large, their counterparts in the AMS, and the prize committee.

Announcement of the award will be in SIAM News and in other similar scientific and general periodicals.