Nominee Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible, nominees must:

• Be full time employees of any DOE National Laboratory at the time of nomination.
• Be permanent employees for a minimum of 5 (cumulative) years within the DOE National Laboratory system.
• Be a scientist, engineer, or technical professional who has been conducting independent research, technology, and/or technical developments supported by DOE for at least 5 years. For the 2026 competition, those who have begun independent R&D activities in their fields in 2021 or earlier are eligible.
• Have served as a primary, direct mentor or laboratory collaborator in the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI), Community College Internships (CCI), or Visiting Faculty Program (VFP) for a minimum of 3 terms; or Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program for a minimum of 1 year (cumulative).
• Have not received the award in the past 8 years.