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Professor Seiichi Nomura Award in Composites

1.     INTRODUCTION
 The Professor Seiichi Nomura Award in Composites, herein stated as the Nomura Award, is awarded to a distinguished member of the composites community who has made a significant impact on the advancement of composite materials through research in mechanics, education, or service.  The Nomura Award seeks to foster collaborations between researchers in the U.S. and Japan.  Awardees will be inspired to help humanity and improve life by embracing education, research, innovation, and lifelong learning.

2. STANDARDS AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
True to Professor Seiichi Nomura values, this endowment aims to advance the field of composite materials through research, education, service, and synergistic collaborations among U.S. and Japanese scholars. The Nomura Award is presented to foster and recognize: 

  • Excellence in research on mechanics of composite materials
  • Excellence in education on composite materials 
  • Collaboration between composites researchers and educators in the U.S. and Japan
Nominees will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
  • Distinguished standing in the composites community
  • Outstanding impact in research, over an extended period of time, on the mechanics of composite materials 
  • Outstanding impact in composites education, over an extended period of time 
  • Outstanding service in the field of composites, over an extended period of time
  • Effective fostering of collaboration between U.S. and Japanese scholars in the field of composites, is preferred
The Seiichi Nomura Award Selection Committee members are ineligible for the award during their service on the committee. No other eligibility restrictions for the award nominees will be enforced.

3.   PROCEDURES FOR NOMINATION AND ELECTION 
3.1 Nomination Procedure and Nomination Packet
All nominations must be submitted to the ASC Vice President by the nomination deadline of May 1 of the year of the award presentation. This deadline may be adjusted in future years by the Selection Committee. 
Nominators shall be current members of ASC. A complete nomination consists of 
  • A signed cover letter with the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of the nominator and co-nominators. 
  • A signed nomination letter summarizing the accomplishments of the nominee.
  • A resume of the nominee.
  • At least three, but not more than five, signed co-nominator supporting letters. 
 The preferred form of the nomination package is electronic pdf (portable document format) files with embedded electronic signatures to permit rapid distribution of the packages by email to the Selection Committee members. All parts of the nomination package must be in English. Receipt of nomination packages will be promptly acknowledged via email by the ASC Vice President. Nominations that are not selected will carry-over for additional consideration one time, and may be updated with pertinent, new information for the second award consideration. If the candidate is to be considered for a third time, a new nomination package must be submitted. 
 3.2 Election Procedure 
The Selection Committee shall consist of five members, each a past Nomura Award winner. The ASC Executive Committee will appoint the Selection Committee. In the early years of the award, when there are not enough past award winners, the  ASC Executive Committee will appoint the rest of the members. ASC Vice President will serve as the chair of the Selection Committee. 
Anyone who has nominated a candidate for the award or who has written a supporting letter for a nomination is ineligible to serve on the Selection Committee, i.e., it is not possible for someone to merely state ineligibility to vote on an individual they have nominated or for whom they have written a supporting letter—such people cannot serve at all in order to ensure that no bias exists and that all five members can vote on all candidates. Selection Committee members are not eligible for the award during their term of service on the committee.
The recipient will be selected from a pool of at least one nominee by the Selection Committee. The goal for the award is quality of the recipient, not quantity of nominations.
The Selection Committee is permitted to decline to make the award if none of the nominees are judged worthy.

 4. POST-ELECTION PROCEDURES
The Chair of the Selection Committee shall forward the name of the award recipient to the Executive Committee for approval.
The Selection Committee shall prepare a final citation of not more than 25 words stating the reason for the award.
The Professor Seiichi Nomura Award in Composites, given every four years, is to be presented at the ASC Annual Technical Conference.