Call for Nominations: ACP Early Career Researcher Award 2022

Call for Nominations: ACP EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER AWARD 2022

OVERVIEW

The Executive Committee of the ACP invites nominations for the 2022 ACP Early Career Researcher Award. The ACP Early Career Researcher Award is awarded every year to a researcher who has completed their PhD at least 2 years and at most 8 years before the year of the competition, with a scientific track record showing great promise in the area of Constraint Programming.

The award, in the form of a certificate, will be presented at the CP 2022 conference, where the winning researcher will be invited to give a plenary talk. The award includes a cash prize of 500 euros and free conference registration.

The award was established this year after a proposal by Prof. Eugene Freuder. Seed funding for the award was provided by the donation of the monetary portion of Prof. Freuder’s 2020 IJCAI Research Excellence Award.

ELIGIBILITY

Eligible nominees are those who defended their doctoral thesis after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2020 in the area of constraint programming. The awardee must be a member of the ACP.

NOMINATION PROCESS

A nomination package consists of a nomination form from one nominator and reference letters from at least 3 referees. The nominator is somebody who knows the nominee very well, arranges the referees, and ensures they do their parts in time to produce a convincing nomination package. Exactly one reference should be a direct collaborator and ideally a past main supervisor. The other referees are ideally well-known members of the CP community who have never had a very close relationship with the nominee, but who can speak with authority about the candidate's work.

Templates for the nominations and reference forms can be found below and should be sent by email to secretary@a4cp.org. Nomination forms should be sent by nominators, reference forms by the referees.

TIMEFRAME

Deadline for nominations, including the references: 15 May 2022. We cannot accept anything received after that date. We will acknowledge receipt of nominations and references.

Notification: 1 July 2022

SELECTION

The selection of the winning nominee is based on the originality, impact, and quality of the research work. The evaluation will consider all contributions to the CP community, including publications, software, systems, and other community building and research communication efforts.

The work of the nominees will be reviewed by a committee of researchers established by the ACP Executive Committee. The composition of the committee will be based on the nominations received. Members of the award committee cannot be candidates, nor can they support a candidate by being a nominator or a reference.

Enquiries concerning nominations should be directed to the ACP EC Secretary at secretary@a4cp.org.

_____________________________ Nomination Form __________________________

NOMINATION FORM: ACP EARLY CAREER RESEARCH AWARD

Please answer, as completely as possible, questions 1 to 9 of the form below, and email it to secretary@a4cp.org. Regarding Question 8, it is important to show evidence that the candidate’s work has had significant impact in the CP field (for example in terms of breakthroughs or by opening new research lines). Effective nominations will therefore emphasize what the candidate has done and why it matters.

The information on this form is confidential. Neither the candidate nor the referees will be informed of the views you express.

  1. Nominator's name and affiliation
    (first, middle, last; address; telephone; and email address)
  2. Referees (list at least 3 people who will submit the reference forms). One referee is required to be a direct collaborator and ideally as past main supervisor. All other referees are required to have been at "arm's length" from the candidate for the past 4 years and to have never had a close personal relationship with the candidate. Arm’s length is defined as being at a different institution from, and not having done joint work with, the candidate. Past supervisors and co-supervisors of the candidate are excluded from being referees. Please list the references and indicate which reference is the direct collaborator or past main supervisor. 
  3. Candidate’s name and affiliation
    (first, middle, last; address; telephone; email address; and webpage)
  4. Candidate's education (PhD field, institution, date)
  5. Professional career record (list of principal positions held and dates)
  6. Professional recognition (honors, awards, prizes, if any)
  7. Contributions of record (list 5-10 significant publications, patents, software systems, or other contributions)
  8. Please describe, in 500 words or less, the accomplishments of the candidate that, in your opinion, qualify them for the ACP Early Career Researcher award.

Answers to the following questions will assist in the evaluation process:

  • Which specific accomplishments made by the candidate merit the award?
  • Where does the candidate stand in comparison to other scientists of similar seniority in the field of CP?
  • What impacts have the contributions of the candidate had on other fields (AI, OR, computer science, etc.), or on society?
  • If some of the candidate's contributions involved a team effort, what specifically were the candidate's contributions?

_____________________________ Reference Form ___________________________

REFERENCE FORM: ACP EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER AWARD

Please answer, as completely as possible, questions 1 to 6 by editing this form directly, and email it to secretary@a4cp.org. Regarding Question 6, it is important to show evidence that the candidate’s work has had or is having significant impact in the CP field (for example in terms of breakthroughs or by opening new research lines). Effective letters will, therefore, emphasize what the nominee has done and why it matters.

The information on this form is confidential. Neither the candidate nor the nominator will be informed of the views you express.

  1. Referee’s name and affiliation
    (first, middle, last; address; telephone; and email address)
  2. Nominator's name
  3. Candidate's name
  4. A referee is required to have been at "arm's length" from the candidate for the past 4 years and to have never had a close personal relationship with the candidate. Arm’s length is defined as being at a different institution from, and not having done joint work with the candidate. Past supervisors and co-supervisors of the candidate are excluded from being referees. Please confirm that you are eligible as a reference.
  5. Please declare here any association you have ever had with the candidate.
  6. Please describe, in 500 words or less, the accomplishments that, in your opinion, qualify the candidate for the ACP Early Career Researcher Award.

Answers to the following questions will assist in the evaluation process:

  • Which specific accomplishments made by the candidate merit the Award?
  • Where does the candidate stand in comparison to other scientists of similar seniority in the field of CP?
  • What impacts are the contributions of the candidate having on other fields (AI, OR, computer science, etc), or on society?
  • If some of the candidate's contributions involved a team effort, what specifically were the candidate's contributions?