Peter Goldacre Award
Peter Goldacre Award
Proudly sponsored by Functional Plant Biology.
Applications for the Goldacre Award should be lodged with the Honorary Secretary, ASPS Inc. Applications for the 2009 Goldacre Award close on 22 June 2009.
Nominations are invited for this Award every year. The background of the Award is given below, together with candidate prerequisites and procedures to follow in making a submission.
Peter Goldacre was an enthusiastic researcher who was held in great respect by his peers. His tragic death in 1960 from stomach cancer at age 34 shocked and saddened all his friends and colleagues. The Goldacre Medal was subsequently established as a lasting tribute to his contributions in plant physiology, and as an encouragement to young researchers.
The Award
The Award honours the memory and attainments of Peter Goldacre, a young scientist and foundation member of this Society.
The Award will be made on the merit of original research in one area, the findings of which have been published, or accepted for publication, in the three years preceding the year of the Award. More than one paper may be submitted, but these should clearly be related to one theme. The candidate need not be the sole author, but it should be evident that they have played a major role in both the design and the execution of the work. Review papers are not considered. The work should have been done within 10 years of the candidate submitting their PhD (see Rule 2.2)
The work presented for assessment shall be in any branch of plant science represented by the Society.
The Award shall not be made for work carried out under supervision while the applicant was a candidate for a research degree.
The work need not have been carried out in Australia, if the candidate has Australian nationality (see Rule 2.3).
The Award will be made at intervals specified by the Society. Normally, an award will be considered yearly.
The value of the Award will be determined by the Society. The current value is $2,000, and is sponsored by Functional Plant Biology. A medal is also presented.
The Award need not be made on any occasion when the Society considers that there is no candidate of sufficient merit.
The successful applicant will be invited to present their work in a plenary Goldacre Lecture at the annual ComBio meeting, and to submit this presentation, with additional material as appropriate, for subsequent publication in Functional Plant Biology (continuing Australian Journal of Plant Physiology).
The Candidate
A candidate must have done the research within 10 years of their PhD, or within 10 cumulative years of employment subsequent to the year in which their PhD thesis was submitted. The papers presented for the Award must have been published, or accepted for publication, in the three years prior to the application.
The candidate should be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, or have carried out all the research for the Award in Australia.
A joint application or nomination from two or more persons, each fulfilling all requirements, will be considered. In this respect attention is directed to Rule 1.4.
Candidates should be members of the Society, and their nominators also should be members of the Society.
Candidates are not restricted as to the number of occasions on which they apply for the Award.
Application Procedure
Application for the Award will be made to the Secretary of the Society by a time specified, normally six months before the annual ComBio meeting at which the Award is announced and the Awardee presents their work in a Goldacre Lecture.
Each application shall consist of a one page statement describing the merits of the applicant’s work, a full CV (including date of birth and employment history), and electronic copies of each of the published papers forming the basis of the application. It shall also include a summary limited to 100 words that can be used as a citation at the Award ceremony. All documentation should be submitted in electronic form to the Honorary Secretary ASPS Inc. (John.Evans@anu.edu.au).
The Secretary of the Society only will maintain a register of applications.
Thus those assessing applications will not know whether they have originated as nominations or direct applications. The Award will be made by the Society on the recommendation of its Committee who may co-opt expert assessors for this purpose. The Secretary and President will select appropriate Australian and international assessors, whose identity will remain known only to them. In cases where more than one candidate receives a strong recommendation, the President or Secretary will decide on the Award on the basis of the advice received.