The Nomination Process

The 2023 Director’s Awards nomination period is from April 1 to May 31

The annual “How to Write a Winning Nomination” workshop was held on Wednesday, March 22.

• How to Write a Winning Nomination – Recording
• Presentation Slide Deck

How to Submit a Nomination

Nominators must complete the following steps:

1. 1. 1. 1. Minimum of two support letters, with up to a maximum of five (Must be written by two individuals other than the nominator).
            • • Request for Support Letter Template (optional)
         2. Achievement Description Form – complete the appropriate form and upload it to the nomination submission form
            • • Lifetime Achievement Award Nominations
              • Stewardship Award Nominations 
              • Exceptional Achievement Nominations (Individual & Team)
                • For all exceptional achievement categories: Early Scientific Career, IDEA (Outreach, Mentorship, Lab Community), Organizational Impact, Safety, Scientific, Societal Impact, and Tech Transfer
         3. Achievement Summary Slide – Summary slides will be reviewed during Lab Recognition Committee meeting. Presenters are not required for summary slides.
            • • Lifetime Achievement – Slide Template
              • Stewardship Award – Slide Template
              • Exceptional Achievement – Individual or Team Slide Template
                • For all exceptional achievement categories: Early Scientific Career, IDEA (Outreach, Mentorship, Lab Community), Organizational Impact, Safety, Scientific, Societal Impact, and Tech Transfer
         4.  Submit the nomination package by Wednesday, May 31st.
            • • Questions about the nomination process? Contact recognition@lbl.gov.
              • Please note: Nominations submitted after the deadline will be considered for the 2024 awards cycle

Review of Nominations:

1. Nominations are initially reviewed at the Division/Area level. No more than two nominations from each division are selected for further review by the Lab-wide Recognition Committee. A third nomination can be allowed if the candidates are from both science and operations.
2. The Committee goes through a pre-selection, reviewing and ranking each nomination and advancing the top three nominations in each award area to the final stage.
3. Next, the final group of nominations are reviewed at the Lab-wide Recognition Committee meeting. During this meeting, the LRC will review nomination packages and slides, and will vote on each nomination. Votes are weighted and ranked, and up to 15 Director’s Award Nominations and 2 Berkeley Lab Prize Nominations are recommended to the Lab Director.
   • Note: Presenters are no longer required to present nomination slides during the LRC meeting.
4. In consultation with the Deputy Laboratory Directors, the Lab Director makes the final determination of achievements and individuals and/or teams to be recognized with awards.

Announcement Date:

The names of the awardees are generally made public during the month of September.

Award Date:

Awardees will receive the monetary portion of the award in their September 13^th (biweekly paid employees) or October 1st (monthly paid employees) paycheck.

Event Date:

The Recognition Event is generally scheduled during the Fall (November).