How to Submit a Nomination
Nominations are accepted from current Rice faculty, staff or students. Nominees must have primary appointments in the Wiess School of Natural Sciences. Self-nominations are not accepted. Submit each nomination as a single combined PDF. All nominations are due on February 8 of each year. The citation should be a sentence or short paragraph describing the nominee’s contributions, and it should be suitable for publication in an announcement of award winners. For award nominations that require a CV, 5-pages or fewer is preferred.
If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Michaelis at stephanie.michaelis@rice.edu.
Awards
Exemplary Faculty Award
Conferred on one NSCI faculty member (any rank) each year in recognition of outstanding achievement in research, teaching and service at Rice.
Nomination materials: nomination letter (800-word limit), citation and CV of nominee
2024 Winner: Anatoly Kolomeisky, Chemistry
For outstanding research accomplishments in theoretical chemistry and biophysics; for excellent teaching of graduate and undergraduate classes; and for a distinguished record of service to Rice University and the scientific community, including work as the chair of the Department of Chemistry, as a faculty senator and as a member of the promotion and tenure committee, as well as for serving as an editor and board member of several research journals.
Breakthrough Research Award
Conferred on one tenured NSCI faculty member each year in recognition of an outstanding research advance within the past 5 years at Rice.
Nomination materials: nomination letter (600-word limit), citation and CV of nominee
2024 Winner: Jim Tour, Chemistry
For the discovery and development of flash graphene, a signature discover in a career that has produced over 800 papers in prestigious journals and more than 138,000 citations.
Rising Star Award
Conferred on one NSCI tenure-track assistant professor each year in recognition of outstanding research achievement at Rice.
Nomination materials: nomination letter (600-word limit), citation and CV of nominee
2024 Winner: Christos Mantoulidis, Mathematics
For breakthrough contributions in geometric analysis, including the areas of mean curvature flow, the Allen-Cahn equation and the existence of geodesics.
Excellence in Postdoctoral Research Award
Conferred on one NSCI postdoctoral researcher each year in recognition of outstanding research done during the postdoctoral appointment at Rice. (A nominee must be employed at Rice as a postdoctoral researcher at the time of nomination in order to be eligible.)
Nomination materials: nomination letter (600-word limit), citation and CV of nominee
2024 Winner: Jacob Russell, Mathematics
For foundational contributions to geometry and group theory, particularly hierarchical hyperbolicity and its application to surface bundles and numerous other classical mathematical objects.
Award for Outstanding Teaching in the School of Natural Sciences
Conferred on one NSCI faculty member (any rank) each year in recognition of outstanding instruction at Rice.
Nomination materials: nomination letter (600-word limit), citation and CV of nominee
2024 Winner: Betul Orcan-Ekmekci, Mathematics
For commitment to excellent teaching, dedication to students by creating an inclusive and nurturing learning environment and commitment to the understanding of the theory of teaching and learning.
Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring Award
Conferred on one NSCI faculty member (any rank) each year in recognition of outstanding undergraduate mentoring or academic advising at Rice.
Nomination materials: nomination letter (600-word limit), citation and CV of nominee
2024 Winner: Julia Saltz, Biosciences
For being an amazing mentor, teacher and advocate for our diverse undergraduate students here at Rice. The Saltz Lab offers many undergraduates valuable research experience each year that promotes experiential learning and student-led presentations and publications and ultimately helps them reach their career goals.
Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award
Conferred on one NSCI faculty member (any rank) each year in recognition of outstanding graduate student mentoring at Rice.
Nomination materials: nomination letter (600-word limit), citation and CV of nominee
2024 Winner: Sylvia Dee, Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
For exceptional commitment in mentoring students of all ages and being an outstanding role model to her graduate students — highlighting the importance of celebrating each other's achievements and promoting academic excellence and professional development.
Excellence in Outreach Award
Conferred on one NSCI faculty or staff member each year in recognition of outstanding outreach and public promotion of STEM.
Nomination materials: nomination letter (600-word limit), citation and CV of nominee
2024 Winner: Scott Solomon, Biosciences
For being an amazing science communicator, evolutionary biologist, teacher, author, speaker and leader that advances public understanding of evolutionary biology and biodiversity and their importance in everyday life.
Outstanding Faculty Service Award
Conferred on one NSCI faculty member (any rank) each year in recognition of outstanding service to the department, school or university.
Nomination materials: nomination letter (600-word limit), citation and CV of nominee
2024 Winner: Angel Martí, Chemistry
For unwavering service to the Chemistry Department, the University and the field of chemistry.
Ruth Parks Award for Distinguished Service
Conferred on one NSCI staff member each year in recognition of more than 7 years of distinguished service to the department, school or university.
Nomination materials: nomination letter (600-word limit) and citation
2024 Winner: Debra Purtee, Mathematics
For distinguished service to the Department of Mathematics and, more generally, Rice University over a 30-year career.
Outstanding Staff Service Award
Conferred on one NSCI staff member in their first 7 years at Rice in recognition of exemplary service to the department, school or university.
Nomination materials: nomination letter (600-word limit) and citation
2024 Winner: Meagan McKellar, Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
For keeping the Earth, environmental and planetary sciences academic programs and more running smoothly and for creative and effective contributions to student life as well as department and school operations.
2023-24 Committee
Richard Gordon, Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Chair
Darin Acosta, Physics and Astronomy
Dan Carson, Biosciences
David Damanik, Mathematics
Cassandra Diep, Kinesiology
Bruce Weisman, Chemistry