GRG Society Thesis Prizes: Governance

In consultation with the Executive Committee, the President of the Society will appoint an evaluation committee for each thesis prize a year and a half before each tri-annual GRG conference. Each committee will have a Chairperson and 2-4 additional members to ensure a balance between sub-fields covered by the prize. To retain continuity, about half of the members of any one committee will continue for the next round, each member serving for 2-3 rounds (except for the first round).

The Call for nominations will go out approximately a year and a half before the GRG conference. Nominations will be due approximately 9 months before the conference, normally by September 30th of the year before the conference. Any member of the Society can make (at most one) nomination for each prize. The nominator must be a member of the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation. The nominee need not be a member of the Society but the official defense must have taken place between the nomination deadline of the previous round and that of the current round. The nomination package will consist of:

i) A nomination letter summarizing the main results and their importance and elaborating student's role in case of joint work.

ii) A PDF file or four hard copies of the thesis (one for each committee member). Copies of published papers that constitute the thesis can be submitted in lieu of the thesis.

iii) A CV and the publication list of the nominee.

iv) An official University document showing that the thesis was successfully defended in the period between the nomination dates of the previous and the current prize.

v) One or two letters in support from experts if the nominator is a supervisor of the Ph.D. thesis.

Electronic nominations are preferred.

The primary criteria for selection will be the high quality of scientific results, creativity and originality, and the significance of results to the broad area of the prize. The winner for each prize will be chosen by a committee of leading international experts in the field 6-9 months before the next tri-annual GRG conference. This will provide the winners ample time to plan travel to the conference. (In exceptional cases, the Executive committee of the GRG Society may allow the prize to be given in absentia.)

With approval of a majority of the voting members of the International Committee and sponsors of these prizes, future executive committees may change the nomination and election procedure from time to time, keeping the original goal of the program in mind.

In case of problems, contact: