Regretfully, nominations will no longer be accepted for this prize.

The Basilis Xanthopoulos International Award: Charter

1. The award, in memory of Basilis C. Xanthopoulos, will be given to a scientist below the age of 40, or with no more than 12 years of research experience following the Ph.D., who has made outstanding (preferably theoretical) contributions to the area of gravitational physics. The possibility of a joint award shared between more than one recipients is not excluded.

2. The award will be presented during the tri-annual conferences of the International Society for General Relativity and Gravitation (GRG) by the President of this Society. The funds for this award will come from the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH). The monetary value of the award will be approximately US $ 10,000 and the precise amount for each award will be decided by FORTH. It is expected that the winner will receive the award in person and present a talk. The details of the award ceremony and the talk will be determined each time by the GRG Society.

3. There will be an Advisory Board to oversee the Award. It will consist of:

• the President and the Deputy President of the GRG Society
• the members of the first four Selection Committees
• the last two Award winners
• a representative of FORTH

The Advisory Board will ensure that the original intent of the Award continues to be served. In addition, it may discuss and make recommendations on any matter regarding the Award and raised by one of its members but is not responsible for the selection of awardees. The President of the GRG Society will serve as the Chair of the Advisory Board. The representative of FORTH will be the Secretary of the Advisory Board. The members of the Advisory Board cannot be less than nine. If for any reason the number falls below nine, the GRG Society will appoint additional members in consultation with the members of the last two Selection Committees and the Advisory Board.

4. For each round, the winner will be chosen by a Selection Committee consisting of five or seven distinguished scientists in gravitational physics, at least one of whom will be preferably from Greece. For each award, nominations will be sought from the international community and the terms of the award will be widely publicized among research centers in the field. The members of the Selection Committee can also nominate candidates. The winner will be chosen at least two months before the GRG conference to allow him/her to make travel plans. The Chairman of the Selection Committee will initiate the process and be in charge of the entire selection procedure. FORTH will help with secretarial and administrative tasks for both the Advisory Board and the Selection Committee. If necessary, FORTH will pay up to US $ 1,500 towards the travel and local expenses of the winner to go to the GRG conference.

5. After each award, one to three (generally two) members of the Selection Committee will be replaced. Thus, generally, each member will serve for two to three rounds of the Award. Members will be eligible for a re-appointment after three or more years of absence from the Selection Committee. The new members as well as the Chair of the Selection Committee will be appointed by the Advisory Board in consultation with the members of the existing Selection Committee.

6. Revisions of this Charter may be made every three years at the GRG Conference by the GRG Society with the approval of the Advisory Board and FORTH.