About the Award

Sponsored by the IEEE Ethics and Member Conduct Committee (EMCC), the IEEE Award for Distinguished Ethical Practices recognizes an IEEE member or an organization employing IEEE members for (a) exemplary ethical behavior/practices and/or (b) persuasive advocacy or promotion of ethical behavior/practices, related to the IEEE Code of Ethics.

Nominations will be accepted from 1 April through 1 July 2024.

The award recipient will be announced in November.

For questions about the award, please contact ethics@ieee.org.


Eligibility

A member of the IEEE or an organization that employs IEEE members can be nominated for the award. There are no restrictions as to IEEE membership grade, gender, or age.

Eligibility limitations adhere to IEEE Policy 4.4.H - “Individuals serving on any board or committee involved at any stage of the recipient selection or approval process for an award shall be ineligible to receive, or act as a nominator or reference for that award. This conflict-of-interest limitation shall apply to all awards given by the IEEE or any of its organizational units”.

Nominations

Any person (IEEE member or non-member) may nominate or support a candidate for this award, with the following exceptions:
  • Members of the IEEE Board of Directors
  • Members of the IEEE Ethics and Member Conduct Committee
  • Self-nominations
  • IEEE Staff
Only one nominator per nominee is permitted (i.e., “co-nominators” will not be accepted).

Basis for Judging and Selection

Nominations for the award are required and shall include evidence of (a) exemplary ethical behavior/practices or (b) persuasive advocacy of ethical behavior/practices, while demonstrating the relationship of that behavior or those practices to the IEEE Code of Ethics.

Nominations should address:
  • What was happening (or not happening) that the nominee felt was unethical?
  • In what ways did the nominee demonstrate ethical leadership, courage, innovation, or honor to make the situation better?
  • What was the overall impact of the nominee's actions?

Strong nominations may also include answers to the following:
  • What impact did the nominee’s actions have on a field of engineering represented within the scope of IEEE?
  • What geographic reach did the nominee’s ethical contributions have or influence?
  • How many professionals represented within the scope of IEEE were positively influenced by the nominee’s ethical contribution?
  • Over what time period was the nominee’s ethical contribution sustained?
  • In what way was the nominee’s ethical contribution innovative to the field?
It is understood that some of these questions may not be applicable to every nomination. It is recommended that the questions be considered as a general guide to assist nominators in building the case for their nominees.

Nomination Form
As part of this Nomination Form, nominators are required to submit the following:
  • A copy of the nominee's brief CV or bio-sketch (3 pages maximum). A publication list is not required unless it is directly related to the nomination of this award.
  • A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 letters of support ("References") - letters are limited to one page per Reference
Please do not begin this Nomination Form until you have these items available to submit.

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