Outstanding Young Scientist and Outstanding Young Engineer Awards
The Outstanding Young Scientist (OYS) award program was established in 1959 to recognize and celebrate extraordinary contributions of young scientists in Maryland. In 1988 the Outstanding Young Engineer (OYE) award was added to recognize contributions in engineering. Both awards are sponsored by the Maryland Academy of Sciences and conferred by the Maryland Science Center to encourage the important work of young scientists and engineers residing in the State of Maryland and increase public awareness of their accomplishments.
Award recipients receive the Allan C. Davis Medal and a cash award of $2,500. Many previous recipients of these awards have gone on to distinguished careers in science and engineering, including:
- Solomon H. Snyder, MD, (1969) Johns Hopkins University Professor of Neuroscience, Pharmacology, and Psychiatry, 2003 National Medical of Science Recipient;
- Pedro Cuatrecasas, MD, (1971) University of California at San Diego, School of Medicine Adjunct Professor, 1987 Wolf Foundation Prize in Medicine Recipient; and,
- Angela Leimkuhler Moran, PhD, (1994) US Naval Academy Mechanical Engineering Department Professor, 2009 Recipient of the Women of Color STEM Conference Award for Corporate Promotion of Education.
The awards are funded primarily through an endowed gift to the Maryland Academy of Sciences by Allan C. and Dorothy Davis. Mr. Davis was a Baltimore native and graduate of Johns Hopkins University. He was a businessman and inventor who held several patents. His affiliation with the Maryland Academy of Sciences spanned more than fifty years, during which Mr. Davis served as President of the Academy and Chairman of the Board of Directors; guided construction of the Maryland Science Center; and, funded the Center’s Davis Planetarium. Click for complete listings of past OYS and OYE award recipients.
Nominations for the 2010 Outstanding Young Scientist and Outstanding Young Engineer awards are due Friday March 19, 2010. Late nominations will not be accepted.
Awards will be presented at a dinner and ceremony to be held at the
Maryland Science Center on Thursday May 20, 2010.
Eligibility
Nominees for the OYS or OYE award must meet the following requirements:
- Be engaged as a full-time professional in research and/or application in any of the fields of science/engineering;
- Be a resident of Maryland at the time of the nomination; and
- Be no more than 35 years of age in the calendar year the award is given.
- Only individuals are eligible for consideration. (Institutions, organizations, teams, etc. are not eligible.)
- A nominee will be considered for only one of the awards in any year.
- Previous recipients of the OYS or OYE are not eligible for the same award.
- Nominees who do not receive an award will be automatically considered again in the following year if he or she continues to meet eligibility criteria. Additional supporting material may be submitted on the nominee’s behalf in the second year.
Nomination Process
Nominations can be submitted by a scientist/science professional in the same field as the nominee who has substantial knowledge of the nominee’s work.
- Nominators complete and submit the online nomination form and a detailed letter on behalf of the nominee and ensure that all required supporting materials and letters of reference are submitted in the required format on or before the posted deadline;
- Nominators are asked to inform the nominee that his/her name is being put forward for an OYS or OYE award and obtain assurance from the nominee that he or she is eligible for the award and willing to accept it;
- Self-nominations are not accepted;
- Awardees are expected to attend the event at which awards will be presented.
Late or incomplete nominations will not receive consideration.
The submission process for the 2010 award is closed, please check back in 2011.
Questions may be directed to: oysoyeawards@marylandsciencecenter.org