Policies & Procedures - 6.1.2 Paper Awards

- approved 11/97, updated 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Note: ComSoc magazines and journals are defined as those financially sponsored, in whole or in part, by the IEEE Communications Society.

The Communications Society Best Tutorial Paper Award
Prize	Plaque and honorarium up to $500 for each author; total not to exceed $1,000.
Eligibility	Given to an outstanding tutorial paper published in any Communications Society magazine or journal in the previous 5 calendar years; author need not be an IEEE member.
Basis for Judging	Clarity and quality of presentation, timeliness and relevance of topic.
Nominee Solicitation	Nominations solicited by Chair of Magazines/Journals Paper Awards Selection Committees in consultation with Magazines/Journals Editors-in-Chief.
Selection Process	Nominations screened and short list prepared by the Magazines and Journals Paper Awards Selection committees with the approval of the Magazines/Journals Editors-in-Chief, Director of Magazines, and Director of Journals. The short list submitted to the Communications Society Awards Committee for final selection.
Presentation	Annually (as soon as possible after recommendation). Award will not be given if a paper of high quality is not uncovered.




The Communications Society Leonard G. Abraham Prize in the Field of Communications Systems (first presented in 1958; category defined in 1975).
Prize	Plaque and honorarium up to $500 for each author; total not to exceed $1,000.
Eligibility	Publication of an original paper, in the category Communications Systems, published in any journal financially sponsored or co-sponsored by the Communications Society in the previous 3 calendar years; author need not be an IEEE member.
Basis for Judging	Quality, originality, utility, timeliness, clarity of presentation.
Nominee Solicitation	Nominations solicited by Journal Editor-in-Chief from the Editorial Board, guest Editors, and readership (through published notice).
Selection Process	Nominations screened and reduced to a short list by a committee of the Editorial Board and submitted to the Communications Society Awards Committee for final selection.
Presentation	Annually (as soon as possible after recommendation). Award will not be given if a paper of high quality is not uncovered.




The Communications Society Stephen O. Rice Prize in the Field of Communications Theory (first presented in 1975).
Prize	Plaque and honorarium up to $500 for each author; total not to exceed $1,000.
Eligibility	Publication of an original paper, in the category Communications Theory, published in any journal financially sponsored or co-sponsored by the Communications Society in the previous 3 calendar years; author need not be an IEEE member.
Basis for Judging	Quality, originality, utility, timeliness, clarity of presentation.
Nominee Solicitation	Nominations solicited by Transactions Editor-in-Chief from the Editorial Board, guest Editors, and readership (through published notice).
Selection Process	Nominations screened and reduced to a short list by a committee of the Editorial Board and submitted to the Communications Society Awards Committee for final selection.
Presentation	Annually (as soon as possible after recommendation). Award will not be given if a paper of high quality is not uncovered.




The Communications Society William R. Bennett Prize in the Field of Communications Networking
Prize	Plaque and honorarium up to $500 for each author; total not to exceed $1,000.
Eligibility	Publication of original paper, in the category of Communications Networking, published in any journal financially sponsored or co-sponsored by the Communications Society in the previous 3 calendar years; author need not be an IEEE member.
Basis for Judging	Quality, originality, utility, timeliness, clarity of presentation.
Nominee Solicitation	Nominations solicited by Transactions Editor-in-Chief from the Editorial Board, guest Editors, and readership (through published notice).
Selection Process	Nominations screened and reduced to a short list by a committee of the Editorial Board and submitted to the Communications Society Awards Committee for final selection.
Presentation	Annually (as soon as possible after recommendation). Award will not be given if a paper of high quality is not uncovered.




Fred W. Ellersick Prize (formerly the Communications Society Magazine Prize Paper Award; renamed in 1992).
Prize	Plaque and honorarium up to $500 for each author; total not to exceed $1,000.
Eligibility	Publication of an original paper in any Communications Society magazine in the previous 3 calendar years; author need not be an IEEE member.
Basis for Judging	Quality, utility, timeliness, and clarity of presentation, comprehensible to the non-specialist.
Nominee Solicitation	Nominations solicited by the Chair of Magazines Paper Awards Selection Committee in consultation with Magazines Editors-in-Chief.
Selection Process	Nominations screened and short list prepared by the Magazines Paper Awards Selection Committee with the approval of the Magazines Editors-in-Chief. The short list is submitted to the Communications Society Awards Committee for final selection.
Presentation	Annually (as soon as possible after recommendation). Award will not be given if a paper of high quality is not uncovered.




The IEEE Communications Society Heinrich Hertz Award for Best Communications Letter (New Award - deadline March 1)
Prize	Plaque and honorarium of $500 per author (up to a maximum total of $2000).
Description	Letters published in IEEE Communications Letters which open new lines of research, envision bold approaches to communication, formulate new problems to solve, and essentially enlarge the field of communications engineering are eligible for this annual award.
Eligibility	This award is given to an outstanding manuscript published in IEEE Communications Letters (or, if renamed, its successor) during the previous 3 calendar years which opens new lines of research, envisions bold approaches to communication, formulates new problems to solve, and essentially enlarges the field of communications engineering. Recipients need not be IEEE members.
Basis for Judging	Quality, exposition, novelty and impact.
Sponsorship and Funding	Jointly sponsored by IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) and Information Theory Society (IT). Funding evenly divided by the two sponsoring societies.
Nominee Solicitation / Selection	Nominations will be solicited by the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Communications Letters from the Editorial Board. Each associate editor may submit no more than one paper to the Editor-in-Chief for consideration. A sub-committee comprised of the Editor-in-Chief and five Associate Editors will screen the nominated papers. Nominations will also be solicited from ComSoc Technical Committee chairs and readership (through published notices). No more than five manuscripts will be submitted to the Awards Committee for final selection by March 1 of each year. Selection will be based on rankings given to each nominated paper by each member of the sub-committee. Each paper submitted to the Awards Committee will be accompanied by a summary statement.
Administration	The IEEE Communications Society will administer the award covered out of the Society’s annual operating budget until a suitable endowment is established. Each recipient receives an honorarium of $500 up to maximum of $2000 (plus the minimal cost of plaques) and will be budgeted annually to cover the total cost of up to $2000 per year.
Presentation	Annually, at ICC or GLOBECOM (as soon as possible after recommendation). Award will not be given if a paper of high quality is not uncovered.




IEEE Communications Society/Information Theory Society Joint Paper Award (Approved 1999)
Prize	A plaque and an honorarium up to $500 for each author; total not to exceed $1,000 for each paper.
Eligibility	For outstanding papers published in any publication of the Communications Society or IEEE Information Theory Society within the previous three calendar years. The authors do not have to be members of IEEE. Presented annually.
Basis for Judging	Quality, originality, utility, timeliness, and presentation. The paper should cover the interests and achieve the values of both the Communications Society and Information Theory Society.
Sponsorship and Funding	Jointly sponsored by IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) and Information Theory Society (IT). Funding evenly divided by the two sponsoring societies.
Selection Process	Each year a joint papers evaluation subcommittee of six members is formed with three from each of the Awards committees of the two Societies. ComSoc's members are appointed by the Chair of the ComSoc Awards Committee. This subcommittee considers ranked nominations from publications boards in both societies and selects 1 or 2 papers as the award recipients. No paper already selected for a ComSoc paper award will be eligible. The processes/timelines will be the same as all other paper awards.
Presentation	Annually at any event sponsored by either of the two sponsoring societies selected by the recipient(s).




IEEE Marconi Prize Paper Award in Wireless Communications
Prize	Plaque, honorarium of up to US$1,000, travel reimbursement of up to US$3,000.*
Description	The IEEE Guglielmo Marconi Best Paper Award is an annual award, sponsored by Qualcomm Inc., for an original paper in the field of Wireless Communications published in the IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications. NOTE: IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications is co-sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society and IEEE Signal Processing Society.
Eligibility	Author of an original paper in the field of Wireless Communications, published in the IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications in the previous 3 calendar years, are eligible for the Award. There are no restrictions as to IEEE membership, nationality, race, creed, age or gender.
Basis for Judging	Originality, utility, timeliness, and clarity of presentation.
Nominee Solicitation	Nominations solicited by the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications from the Editorial Board, guest Editors, and readership (through published notice).
Selection Process	Annually solicitations are sought from 1 January through 15 February; a short list is generated by 1 March; selection by an award committee (consisting of 3 members of the ComSoc Awards Committee and 1 from the Signal Processing Society) is completed by 10 April; the Chair of the Communications Society Awards Committee notifies recipients no later than 20 April.
Administration	Sponsored by Qualcomm Inc., in addition to the $1000 honorarium, a travel reimbursement of up to US$3000 is provided for travel and living to enable recipients to attend the Awards Luncheon.*
Presentation	Annually presented by the IEEE Communications Society Awards Committee Chair, in the name of the IEEE Communications Society, the IEEE Signal Processing Society, and the external sponsor of the award, at the International Conference on Communications.


IEEE Communications Society Award for Advances in Communications
Prize	Plaque and honorarium of $500 per author (up to a maximum total of $2000).
Eligibility	Papers that open new lines of work, envision bold approaches to communication, formulate new problems to solve, and essentially enlarge the field of communications engineering. Given to an outstanding paper published in any IEEE Communications Society publication in the previous 15 calendar years; author need not be an IEEE member.
Basis for Judging	Quality, originality, novelty and impact.
Nominee Solicitation	Nominations solicited by Editors-in-Chief to the Editorial Boards and guest Editors of all IEEE Communications Society publications. After screening, each Editor-in-Chief shall submit at least one nomination. Nominations will also be solicited from ComSoc Technical Committee chairs and readership (through published notice).
Selection Process	All nominations shall be submitted to the IEEE Communications Society Awards Committee for final selection by March 1 of each year. The selection process shall comply with procedures and regulations established in IEEE and ComSoc governing documents, in particular with IEEE Policy 4.4 on Award Limitations.
Administration and Funding	The IEEE Communications Society will administer the award covered out of annual Society operating expenses until a suitable endowment is established.
Presentation	Annually at ICC or GLOBECOM. Award will not be given if a paper of high quality is not uncovered. Award and recipient will be published in the ComSoc Awards Luncheon brochure and posted on the ComSoc web site.