HomeGeneral InformationHonors & AwardsProcess

Award and Fellow Nomination Processes

Evaluation, Selection, and Notification Process

  1. Nominations are submitted by the established deadline in the proper format. 
  2. Candidate nominations are evaluated by the designated Society Committee – Fellow nominations are reviewed by the Admissions Committee and all other nominations are reviewed by the Honors & Awards Committee.
  3. Recommendations are presented to the ISA Executive Board for approval at the ISA Summer Leaders Meeting (typically in June).
  4. Selected candidates are notified by the ISA President.
  5. Candidates not selected and their nominators are provided feedback from the Honors & Awards or Admissions Committee Chair.
  6. Honorees are recognized at the ISA Honors & Awards Gala (typically in October).

How To Submit An Award Nomination

  1. Carefully review award categories and criteria.
  2. Select a nominee who meets the qualifications for the award category selected.
  3. Review specific nomination instructions for selected award category.
  4. Complete the designated nomination form by the specified deadline.
  5. With consent of the nominator, candidates will be notified of their nomination and asked to collaborate with the nominator for submission of the appropriate biographical form for the specified award category.
  6. Nominators, working with candidates, should solicit and collect letters of endorsement/support as specified for the award category. Please note that some categories have a maximum on the number of letters that can be submitted.
  7. Working together, nominators and candidates should submit the comprehensive documentation package (biographical material, supporting documents, letters of support) by the requested deadline.

 How To Submit A Fellow Member Nomination

  1. Select a nominee. Carefully select and pre-qualify candidates.
  2. Verify that the nominee is qualified. Staff can validate length of membership and grade.
    • A Senior Member
    • At least five years of ISA membership.
    • Ten years of active work in instrumentation.
    • An outstanding engineering or scientific contribution.
    • Current ISA Executive Board members are not eligible for Fellow grade election.
  3. Identify qualified and eligible evaluators. 
    • Each candidate must be evaluated by a minimum of five Fellow Members or a combination of nine Fellows and Senior Members. Preference should be given to Fellows when selecting evaluators. Refer to the list of Fellows By Expertise.
    • All evaluators must be current ISA members.
    • Evaluators should come from a wide geographical area with a balanced mix of relationships to the candidate (co-worker, subordinate, superior, customer, competitor, etc.) as well as a balanced mix of recognized authorities in the automation field and in the candidate’s field of specialization.
    • It is not essential for the evaluator to know the candidate personally.
    • The evaluator’s assessment should augment and reinforce the nomination.
    • Current ISA Executive Board Members and Admissions Committee Members are not eligible to serve as evaluators.
  4. Send Evaluator Form to selected evaluators with instructions and deadline for completion. A sample cover letter is provided for your convenience.
  5. Complete the designated nomination form.
  6. Thoroughly document attainments of candidates. Documentation should not be a job description or summary of the nominee’s job performance. Accomplishments may take many forms, including:  published technical papers, research, patents, innovative practices, books, education programs and activities, engineering projects, technical leadership. Society service is NOT a consideration for elevation to Fellow grade.
  7. Collect completed evaluations and submit with nomination form by the established deadline. Please note that a complete nomination includes the nomination form along with the appropriate number of completed evaluations.