Community Awards

Community Awards

Overview

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant supported Community Awards for US-RSE members and the RSE community. The goals of this award program are to:

  • Recognize individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to RSE community.
  • Recognize individuals who have helped US-RSE mission.
  • Connect people within the US-RSE community.
  • Assist individuals to grow in their own career.
  • Increase visibility and viability of Research Software Engineering as a career.

Call for 2025 US-RSE Community Awards Nominations

The US Research Software Engineer Association (US-RSE) is excited to announce that nominations are now open for the 2025 US-RSE Community Awards! These awards recognize and celebrate the impactful contributions of individuals and teams who are advancing the field of research software engineering in the United States.

Each award will be presented in two categories:

  • Student/Early Career (current student or within five years of starting their career)
  • Professional

Winners will receive an award certificate, recognition on the US-RSE website, a $250 gift card, and recognition at the 2025 US-RSE Annual Conference (USRSE’25). If a team is selected, the gift card will be awarded to the group as a whole rather than to individual members. We invite you to nominate yourself or a colleague for one of the following awards.

US‑RSE Technical Excellence Award

This award recognizes outstanding technical contributions that materially advance research software engineering practice. This award celebrates “the things RSEs do that are normally ignored,” such as but not limited to:

  • Reproducibility and Re‑use: Delivering artifacts, tools, or workflows that others can pick up and run with minimal friction, whether open‑source or shared under appropriate proprietary constraints.
  • Modernization and Sustainability: Porting legacy codes to new architectures, improving performance, documentation, testing, or CI so software retains long-term viability.
  • Mentorship in Craft: Sharing technical know-how through code review, pair programming, tutorials, or design docs – that raises knowledge and/or quality for a team or community.

US‑RSE Community Impact and Leadership Award

Purpose: Honors leadership and service that amplifies the reach, visibility, and growth of the RSE profession. This award focuses on people who step beyond their own codebases to promote belonging, engagement, and awareness, such as but not limited to:

  • Strategic Leadership: Leading initiatives (working groups, committees, workshops, training sessions, etc.) that advance RSE knowledge and careers, either regionally or nationwide.
  • Mentorship and Talent Development: Guiding students, early-career RSEs, or domain scientists to build skills and confidence in research software.
  • Outreach and Advocacy: Promoting better practices and spreading the “voice of the RSE” through workshops, publications (in journals/conferences or “grey” material, e.g., blog posts), policy input, or cross‑institution collaboration.

Eligibility

  • The nominee must be a current member of US-RSE
  • Nominees must NOT currently serve on the US-RSE Steering Committee, Award Committee, or a current member of staff.
  • Priority will be given to those nominees who are based in the U.S. or have a direct impact on a U.S. institution.
  • Technical Excellence Award Specific Criteria
    • Nominees must have demonstrably improved the reliability, usability, or longevity of research software.
    • Proprietary or secure projects are eligible if evidence of impact (e.g., internal case studies, letters from users) can be provided.
    • A team may be nominated. Please provide a single primary point of contact.
  • Community Impact and Leadership Award Specific Criteria
    • Nominees’ contributions must have demonstrably and positively impacted the wider RSE community, aligning with the award criteria described above. This impact can be evident within their institution, region, or US-RSE.

Awards Timeline

  • Nominations Open: June 2, 2025
  • Nominations Close: July 11, 2025
  • Awards Announcement: September 8, 2025 (projected)

Nomination Details

Interested members are encouraged to nominate themselves or others from within the US-RSE community. All US-RSE members in good standing are eligible to be nominated.

The nomination form will request the following details:

  • Your name and email
  • Nominee’s name and email (if nominating someone else)
  • Team members’ names (if nominating a team)
  • Award category and subcategory
    • Technical Excellence OR Community Impact and Leadership
    • Student/Early Career OR Professional
  • Nomination Statement
    • As part of the nomination process for the 2025 US-RSE Awards, each submission is required to include a nomination statement (maximum 500 words).
    • Review the Guidance for Nomination Statement.

2025 US-RSE Awards Committee

  • Miranda Mundt, Sandia National Laboratories
  • Alex Koufos, Stanford University
  • James Afful, Iowa State University
  • Muaaz Gul Awan, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • Priya Ronald D’Costa, SAP
  • Srikanth Kumar Gampa, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere
  • Lucy Havens, Lucy Havens LLC

FAQs

Q: Are there 'extra points' when someone else nominates me vs. self nomination? A: There are no 'extra points' whether you self-nominate or if someone else suggests your name. All nominees will be contacted after nominations close and asked to fill out a "Nominee Acceptance" form that will include requests for, e.g., a brief biography and evidence of impact.
Q: Can individuals submit nominations for more than one award in same year? A: No, individuals cannot apply for multiple awards in the same year.
Q: Who all can apply for awards? A: The applicant/nominee has to be a current US-RSE member. Current US-RSE Steering Committee members or staff members cannot apply for awards.
Q: Do applicants have to be based in the U.S. to apply? A: No; any member of US-RSE is eligible to apply. However, priority will be given to those nominees who are based in the U.S. or have a direct impact on a U.S. institution.
Q: Why do I have to choose between "Student/Early Career" and "Professional"? A: In an attempt to ensure accessibility for all members of the community, the Awards Committee has created these two subcategories to ensure that nominees are evaluated alongside others at a similar stage in their careers.

Previous Winners

2024 Winners

  • Impact Award: DANIEL S. KATZ, for his exceptional contributions to the Research Software Engineer community.
  • Excellence in Service Award: CHRISTINA MAIMONE, for her dedication and commitment to the US-RSE organization and community.

Visit the official announcement page for full details: 2024 Community Award Results

Contact

If you have questions, please send them via email to awards@us-rse.org or ask in the #rse-community-awards slack channel.

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