MALAYSIAN SOCIETY FOR MICROBIOLOGY AWARDS ( MSM )

SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

At the 2009 Malaysian Society for Microbiology AGM it was unanimously resolved that the annual award be presented to recognise an academic scientist who is a member of the MSM for his/her significant scientific contributions. In accord with this resolution, the Scientific Achievement Award is hereby established.

Candidates for this award shall be chosen by a nominating committee chaired by the President and members appointed at the MSM AGM. The Chair shall appoint a committee consisting of four MSM members and this committee shall nominate candidates they deem to be qualified. Members of the nominating committee shall be ineligible for the award during their period of service. No more than two individuals from a given institution may be a member of the nominating committee during any given year. The Chair and each member of the nominating committee may each nominate one individual which will result in no more than five nominees per year.

The final selection of the Award recipient shall be determined by a vote conducted by the nominating committee among its members in which each member is entitled to cast two votes, one for each of two candidates. A simple majority vote of the nominating committee members voting shall determine the Awardee. In the event of a tie vote, the nominating committee will reballot to achieve a simple majority between the tied candidates.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

Each nominating committee member shall be responsible for preparing a brief written synopsis describing the qualifications of that member's nominee. This synopsis shall be based upon the following criteria.

Duration of service:

Candidates shall currently be employed at an academic or research institution in Malaysia and should have at least 10 years of experience at such an institution in an academic teaching and or research rank. Candidates should be members in good standing of the MSM and research community. Affiliations with other professional societies or academic institutions will be considered to be desirable attributes.

Scientific Contributions:

Candidates should have demonstrated by reviewed and invited publications, patents, extramural research grant support, awards and honorary offices, their scientific contributions during their careers. Excellence as teachers of microbiology shall be evaluated by the numbers of students taught, contributions to curricular innovation, written texts and other teaching materials, and achievement of students.

Candidates should have a record of service both within and beyond the walls of their academic institution. This may include evidence of service to professional societies, agencies of the government or to the enterprise of teaching. Involvement of the candidate in a useful way with the operation of professional scientific societies or community service will also be viewed favorably.

DOCUMENTATION

The written synopsis shall be limited to 2500 words. This synopsis should be publication-ready. It should be written with the intent of substantiating the above three criteria. An addendum to the synopsis could include a resume of the candidate.

AMENDMENTS

Any proposed amendment or amendments to this Scientific Achievement Award may be presented in writing to the AGM of MSM or to the Nominating Committee, and such proposed amendment(s) shall be voted upon in a manner to be determined by the Executive Committee provided that the Membership shall be notified of the proposed changes thirty days in advance. A three-fourths affirmative vote of the Members voting shall be sufficient for the adoption of the proposed amendment or amendments. This option shall expire after the 1989 Annual IBASM Meeting in order to preserve the constancy of the criteria for the award thereafter.

AWARD PRESENTATION

The Committee Chairman will have the responsibility of preparing a final resume of the award recipient's scientific and other qualifications suitable for publication in various appropriate publications. The Chairman shall, in addition, be responsible for obtaining and presenting the award to the recipient at the Annual MSM event. The award shall consist of a circulating plaque containing the names of all recipients of the Academic Scientific Achievement Award; a similar but small plaque shall be presented to the awardee to be retained by the awardee as a permanent record of the awardee's accomplishments.

SEMINAR

The award recipient shall be invited to a Keynote Address at the International Congress of the Malaysian Society for Microbiology held biannually.