Midland Local Section Team Innovation Award

Scope:  The Midland Local Section of the American Chemical Society will grant up to 3 awards per year recognizing the teams responsible for successful product or process innovation taking place in the Midland area.  One of the awards will be reserved for organizations with less than 300 employees in the region.   In the event no nominations are received from such organizations, no award will be granted. 

Nature: The award will consist of a plaque to be provided to the employer and certificates for each team member.

Eligibility:  This award recognizes the team responsible for a commercialized innovation.  Innovations can be either new products or new processes.   Innovations commercialized in the current or previous two calendar years are eligible.  Nomination packages will be maintained for subsequent years until the expiration of eligibility.   There is no requirement linked to ACS membership.

Deadline:  Nominations closed March 31, 2024.

Fee:  There is a $60 fee for each submission due once the submission is approved by the awards coordinator.

Criteria:  The award will be granted regardless of race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, presence of disabilities, or educational background of the team members.

Products will be judged based on three criteria:  inventiveness, impact, and connection to the Midland area.  One-fifth of the score is based on local area ties, and two-fifths each for inventiveness and impact.  Inventiveness will be judged on the creativity, inventiveness, and teamwork used in the innovation.  Impact is broadly defined, encompassing economic, environmental and/or societal impacts. 

All entries must have a significant component linking the discovery, development or commercialization to the Midland area.    There is no expectation that all activities related to discovery, development and commercialization occur in the Midland Area.  Work can be done outside the area provided the contributions of Midland-based team members are significant. 

Clear documentation of the date of commercialization is required.  Press releases or other public announcements are expected for commercialized products.  Process innovations without public documentation will be accepted provided documentation, such as support letters from company leadership, is provided.  Letters from listed team members will not be accepted. 

Judging:  The Awards Committee of the Midland Local Section will judge the nominations.  Conflict of interest will result in Committee members recusing themselves from judging duties only when the member is actually named in a nomination.  Working for a company with a nominated product is insufficient to create a conflict requiring recusal, though such ties must be openly disclosed. 

Application Must Include:

Product or Process Name as it should appear on any potential award plaque:

 

Name of primary submitting organization:

Name of co-developers:

 

Date of product or process introduction:

Proof substantiating the date of commercialization/implementation:

 

What is the link to the Midland area? 

 

Short description of the product or process (60 words or less)

 

What does the product or process do?  What is the need addressed or problem solved? 

 

How does the product or process operate?  What concepts form the foundation for the innovation?

 

Describe how the product or process improves upon completive technologies, emphasizing any particularly inventive or creative aspects.

 

What value is created or impact realized by the innovation?

 

Describe any limitations of the product or process.

 

Additional supporting documents (websites, pictures, press releases, application notes, support letters, etc.)