Medals and Awards Nomination Form

Medals and Awards Nomination Guidelines

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Deadline: 31 March

The following guidelines were developed to assist individuals in preparing nominations for candidates for SNAME medals and awards to the SNAME Awards Committee for consideration:

The guidelines which follow apply to the following SNAME medals and awards (hereinafter referred to as “medals and awards”):

• The Francis T. Bowles Medal for "Notable Early Career Achievement by a Young Maritime or Ocean Professional"
• The Dr. Kenneth S. M. Davidson Medal for "Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment in Ship Research"
• The Vice Admiral "Jerry" Land Medal for "Outstanding Accomplishment in the Marine Field"
• The Blakely Smith Medal for "Outstanding Accomplishment in Ocean Engineering"
•  The David W. Taylor Medal for "Notable Achievement in Naval Architecture and/or Marine Engineering"
• The William H. Webb Medal for "Outstanding Contributions to Education in Naval Architecture, Marine or Ocean Engineering"
• The William M. Kennedy Award for "Outstanding Service and Contribution in the Development of Systems and Planning Applying to Shipbuilding and Ship Repair"

1. Nominations shall consist of a completed nomination form, and supporting letters for the nominee. A minimum of three (3) letters is recommended.
2. Nominations for medals and awards may be made by a member in good standing or per the medal or award description provided on the SNAME Recognition & Awards webpages. The online nomination form for the medals and awards is available on each medal or award webpage and the Medals webpage.
3. It is understood and appreciated that the reputations and contributions of many individuals in our industry are well-known. However, the ultimate success of any medal or award nomination will be closely correlated with the quality and completeness of the information provided by the nominator on the nomination form, regardless of the nominee’s reputation. Additional clarifying information which substantiates the qualifications of the candidate for the medal or award is both important and desired. A nomination with substantive clarifying information will be favored over a minimally-completed form for two candidates who are otherwise equally qualified.
4. In addition to a completed, high-quality nomination form, it is strongly recommended that all nominations for the above medals and awards be accompanied by supporting letters of recommendation. Supporting letters should be solicited by the nominator as part of the nominating process. The nominator should consider potential sources for effective supporting letters. Strong supporting letters typically come from those who have had a close working relationship with the nominee, coupled with experience in the medal or award category (e.g., an industry leader in naval architecture writing a supporting letter for a David W. Taylor Medal nominee with whom he/she has worked in recent years). Past medal or award recipients can be strong supporters of nominees in the same category but only if they have first-hand knowledge of the nominee’s accomplishments. Supporting letters provided by individuals not employed by the nominee’s employer/company will demonstrate a broader level of support and will generally provide more value to the nomination package.
5. Nominations for medals or awards must be submitted to SNAME Headquarters no later than 31 March. Supporting letters may be submitted along with the online nomination form, or they can be provided by their authors independently to  SNAME at sname@sname.org prior to the 31 March deadline.
6. In summary, SNAME medal and awards nomination packages should be complete, well-organized and neatly presented, with strong supporting letters. Incomplete or poorly-presented nominations may not receive consideration and may be returned to the nominator for re-packaging and re-submittal.