2007 Higuchi - Endowment Association Research Achievement Awards Call for Nominations

Open to all Kansas Board of Regents Institutions

Nomination deadline

December 7, 2007

Background and description

In 1981, the Research Achievement Award program was established by Regents Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacy Takeru Higuchi, his wife, Mrs. Aya Higuchi, and the Kansas University Endowment Association. The awards were established to honor four benefactors of the University of Kansas: Balfour Jeffrey, Olin Petefish, Dolph Simons, and Irvin Youngberg. Designed to recognize significant research achievement, these awards were first presented in the fall of 1982. Each award of $10,000 (on deposit with the Kansas University Endowment Association) may be expended over five years in support of research activities in the form of research materials, summer salary, fellowship matching funds, equipment, research assistants, or any other purpose that is consonant with the advancement of the individual's research program. Each award will be given to a deserving Kansas Board of Regents faculty member by the Chancellor upon the recommendation of the Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies.

For more information about Takerau Higuchi and a list of past winners, please refer to the Higuchi - Endowment Association Research Achievement Awards page.

Criteria

Criteria for the awards were developed in 1981 by a group of distinguished professors appointed by the Vice Chancellor for Research, Graduate Studies and Public Service. Specific criteria for each of the awards are described below:

• The Balfour Jeffrey Research Award in the field of the Humanities and Social Sciences will be given in recognition of research achievement in the humanities and social sciences to an individual who may be described as having had a major and substantial impact and who has been of national and/or international interest. This individual's research should be characterized either as profoundly seminal in nature or as representing a productive record of significant research and expanding intellectual or societal insights.
• The Olin Petefish Research Award in the field of Basic Sciences will be given in recognition of research achievement in the basic sciences to an individual who may be described as having had a major and substantial impact and who has been of national and/or international interest. This individual's research should be characterized as either profoundly influencing later development in a field or as representing a productive record of significant research that has illuminated basic processes or basic phenomena. The Olin Petefish Research Award will be given for work in the basic sciences in fields such as physics, chemistry, the biological sciences, basic behavioral sciences, and mathematical sciences.
• The Dolph Simons Research Award in the field of Biomedical Sciences will be given in recognition of research achievement in the biomedical sciences to an individual who may be described as having had a major and substantial impact and who has been of national and/or international interest. This individual's research should be related to biomedical problems and characterized either as profoundly seminal in nature or as representing a productive record of significant research. The Dolph Simons Research Award will be given for biomedical research in areas such as those related to medicine, pharmacy, the biological and behavioral sciences, bio-engineering, and veterinary medicine.
• The Irvin Youngberg Research Award in the field of Applied Sciences will be given in recognition of research achievement in the applied sciences to an individual who may be described as having had a major and substantial impact and whose work has been of significant relevance to the state of Kansas. This individual's research should be characterized either as profoundly seminal in nature or as representing a productive record of significant research. The Irvin Youngberg Research Award will be given for work in the applied sciences such as engineering, agriculture, business, economics, and other scientific areas of an applied nature.

General conditions

A broad-based committee appointed by KU's Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies will evaluate all nominations in terms of the above criteria. An award in every category may not be made in any given year. The awards will be announced during the fall semester of 2008.

Faculty in the employ of all Regents institutions in Kansas are eligible for the award. A substantial portion of the work for which an award is to be given must have been done at a Kansas Regents institution. For faculty from institutions other than the University of Kansas to win an award, it must be possible to arrange an adjunctive or visiting relationship with the University of Kansas to be held for the duration of the use of the award's resources.

All nominations remain active for five (5) years. Annual re-nominations are unnecessary; however, re-nominations containing updated and/or additional information will be accepted. The nomination process is dynamic in that nominators need not specify a particular award; i.e., nominees may be considered in more than one category. Only nominations for individual recipients will be considered. Past award winners may be re-nominated once ten years have passed.

Nominations

Nominations containing the information described below should be submitted by December 7, 2007 to:

Higuchi-Endowment Association Research Achievement Award
Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies
Youngberg Hall
2385 Irving Hill Road
Lawrence, KS 66045-7563

Nominations must include the following information:

• A one-page letter of recommendation outlining the accomplishments of the nominee based on the criteria statements (see above). This letter should detail the nominee's seminal contribution to his or her field. The panel that reviews all nominations is made up of researchers from across the academic spectrum. Please make sure that the letter of nomination uses language that will be understandable to individuals outside the nominee's field.
• The names and contact information (including street and email addresses) of four (4) references who are qualified to comment on the nominee's achievements. Suggested references should not have any close personal relationship to the nominee and should not be associated with any Kansas Regents institution.