Nomination Guidelines
Deadline for 2025 award recommendations is December 15, 2024.
Unless otherwise stated, IEST members in good standing and nonmembers are eligible to be nominated for awards. Nominations may be made only by IEST members, senior members, Fellows, or chapters in good standing.
The individual or group making the recommendation is responsible for providing the Honors and Awards Chairman with a properly worded citation to accompany the award. This citation should be very specific in identifying the technical achievements or contributions for which the nominee is being considered. VAGUE AND GENERALIZED DESCRIPTIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. There should be no doubt left by the citation as to why the award was made. In addition, since the citation will be inscribed on a plaque, the wording should be as precise and to the point as possible, without sacrificing necessary information. Please keep citations to a maximum of 35 words. IEST reserves the right to edit citations for best presentation.
IEST Members - Log in to make your nomination
As a general rule, award recommendations are submitted to the Honors and Awards Chair for review in January of the year in which the award will be presented.
General Membership Awards
Fred Hermann Memorial Award - This award is presented at the Annual Technical Meeting to provide recognition to members whose service has been primarily in chapter and regional activities. Background: Fred Hermann was National IEST President of the Institute in 1970-71 and devoted countless hours to IEST in many capacities before his sudden death in 1985.
Al Lieberman Mentoring Award - This award is presented for significant contributions to the success of others through mentoring, and willingness to share expertise. This award is meant to recognize an individual’s unselfishness, and willingness to help others in any technical field.
Exceptional Woman Contributor Award - This award is presented to a woman within the fields of interest of IEST who has demonstrated excellence with her contributions either to her field or directly to IEST.
John Martin Outstanding New Member Award - This award was established in 1988 to recognize the contributions of a current IEST member with less than three years of membership at the time of nomination.
Monroe Seligman Award - This award is presented for outstanding service or contribution to the furtherance of the Institute.
Contamination Control and Nanotechnology Awards
James R. Mildon Award - This award is presented for significant contributions to the advancement and increase of knowledge in the field of contamination control and/or to the awareness and effectiveness of contamination control activity in professional societies.
Willis J. Whitfield Award - This award is presented for substantial contributions to the field of contamination control through published papers, studies and reports.
Robert L. Mielke Award - This award is presented in honor of Robert L. Mielke's outstanding contributions to IEST's development of standards and practices. The award is presented to a member of the IEST Working Group program who has made significant and substantial contributions to the development of Recommended Practices in the Contamination Control Division. The recipient will also have demonstrated professional distinction and leadership, dedication, hard work, and innovative abilities in the participation of WG activities and in the contributions to the development of Recommended Practices. Recommendations may be made by any member of IEST or by the management of the CC Division.
Environmental Test and Reliability Awards
Dr. Irwin Vigness Memorial Award - This award is presented for substantial contributions to the fields of shock and vibration through published papers, studies, and reports.
John D. Campbell Space Simulation Award - This award is presented for significant contributions to the development of successful space hardware through outstanding work in the measurement, analysis, and/or simulation of space environments.
Climatics Award - First presented in 1986, this award is presented for substantial contributions to the advancement of Climatics technology through published papers, studies and reports of other activities.
Edward A. Szymkowiak Award - This award is presented in memory of Edward A. Szymkowiak, former IEST President, who made outstanding contributions to the advancement of IEST's development of Recommended Practices and other works in the fields of design, test, and evaluation and product reliability. The award is presented to a member of the IEST Working Group program who has made significant and substantial contributions to the development of Recommended Practices in the Design, Test, and Evaluation or Product Reliability Division. The recipient will also have demonstrated professional distinction and leadership, dedication, hard work, and innovative abilities in the participation of WG activities and in the contributions to the development of Recommended Practices. Recommendations may be made by any member of IEST or by the management of the DTE or PR Division.
Reliability Test and Evaluation Award - First awarded in 1978, this award is presented for outstanding contributions to the field of Reliability Test and Evaluation. Candidates for this award do not have to be IEST members; they may be selected from the membership, industry management, or government administration. This award is traditionally announced in January at the awards banquet for the Reliability and Maintainability Symposium (RAMS).
Dave S. Steinberg Award - The Dave S. Steinberg Award is given for outstanding achievement in an area related to improving the reliability of electronic equipment required to operate in harsh vibration, shock, acoustic, and various thermal environments. This award was first given in 1999.
Other Technical Recognition
While the following categories are membership grades and not technical awards, they are nevertheless forms of technical recognition by the Institute. They are therefore included for information purposes only.
Request a nomination packet for a candidate. Send your requests or completed nomination packets to membershipdept@iest.org. The recommendation will be forwarded to the Fellow Review Board for consideration. The Fellow Review Board is comprised of three (3) Fellows, each serving for a period of three (3) years, rotating one person on/off every year, while the other 2 remain. The Chair of the FRB will be the Fellow serving the last year of their three-year term.
Fellow - As described in the bylaws, the membership grade of Fellow is awarded only by a majority vote of the Executive Board to a member of the Institute of unusual professional distinction who has made substantial or vital contributions to the advancement of the environmental sciences and to the Institute.
Candidates for this award must be a current member of IEST and have at least 15 years’ professional experience. In this context, professional experience may include the years of study in an accredited institution of higher learning leading to a Bachelor’s Degree in Science or Engineering and/or as much as 3 years of full-time post-graduate or advanced study where such work has led to an advanced degree. A candidate for this award must be recommended by at least 4 members, of whom 2 must be Fellows and the other 2 either Senior Members or Fellows.
Honorary Fellow - The membership grade of Honorary Fellow is awarded by a majority vote of the Executive Board to individuals who are not members of the Institute who have nevertheless made vital contributions to the advancement of the environmental sciences. A candidate for this award must be recommended by at least 6 members, of whom at least 2 must be Fellows and at least 2 must be Senior Members.
Questions? Email the Technical Department.