Nominations are being sought for University of Iowa faculty, staff and student researchers, creators, mentors, and entrepreneurs for the UI’s annual Discovery & Innovation Awards Ceremony, which will be held in April.

The UI Office of Research and Economic Development, the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Operations, the Graduate College, the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, and the Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates sponsor the awards.

All nomination materials must be submitted by Feb. 5, 2016.

In addition to awards given in previous years, nominees will be considered for two new categories.

The Communicating Ideas Award will recognize faculty who have demonstrated excellence at communicating about research and scholarship to a general audience. And the Student Innovator Awards will honor undergraduate and graduate students who have conducted original research/scholarly innovation or new technology development that has led to intellectual property. 

“It’s wonderful to recognize the incredible discovery and innovation taking place on campus by students, faculty, and staff, across the sciences, the humanities, and the arts,” Vice President for Research and Economic Development Daniel A. Reed said. “We’re especially excited this year to honor student innovators and faculty who have done an outstanding job helping members of the public understand what a large research university does and why it matters.”

Nomination materials and criteria for the awards are available here:

Faculty awards

* Scholar of the Year;

* Early Career Scholar of the Year;

* Leadership in Research;

* Distinguished Achievement in Publicly Engaged Research;

* Distinguished Achievement in Arts and Humanities Research; and

* New Faculty Communicating Ideas award

Staff awards

* Distinguished Research Professional; and

* Distinguished Research Administrator.

Student, Graduate Student and Postdoctoral awards

* New Student Innovator;

* Graduate Student Research Excellence; and

* Postdoctoral Scholar/Fellow Research Excellence.

Nomination/application materials and criteria for Faculty and Staff Startup of the Year are at http://www.iowajpec.org/startup-of-the-year/.

Nomination/application materials and criteria for Excellence in Undergraduate Research are at http://www.uiowa.edu/icru/article/excellence-undergraduate-research-awards, and for Distinguished Mentor at http://www.uiowa.edu/icru/article/distinguished-mentor-awards.

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development provides resources and support to researchers and scholars at the University of Iowa and to businesses across Iowa with the goal of forging new frontiers of discovery and innovation and promoting a culture of creativity that benefits the campus, the state, and the world. More at http://research.uiowa.edu, and on Twitter: @DaretoDiscover.