Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring

National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia 22230

NSF 13-044

Dear Colleague Letter: Dear Colleague Letter: Call for Nominations - Presidential
Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring
(PAESMEM)
Date: January 25, 2013
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring
(PAESMEM) is a Presidential award established by the White House in 1995. The purpose of the award
is to recognize U.S. citizens or permanent residents and U.S. organizations that have demonstrated
excellence in mentoring individuals from groups that are underrepresented in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce. Groups that are underrepresented in
STEM include women, people with disabilities, underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities, as well as
individuals from low socio-economic backgrounds and some geographic regions such as urban and rural
areas. The PAESMEM program is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of
the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
Nominations, including self-nominations, are invited for Individual and Organizational PAESMEM
awards. Individuals and organizations in all public and private sectors are eligible including industry,
academia, primary and secondary education, military and government, non-profit organizations, and
foundations. Nominations are encouraged from all geographical regions in the U.S., its territories or
possessions, particularly jurisdictions designated by Congress under NSF's Experimental Program to
Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
Nomination Materials Due: June 5, 2013.

THE PAESMEM AWARD
Each Individual and Organizational PAESMEM awardee will receive a $10,000 award and a
commemorative Presidential certificate. Awardees are also invited to participate in an awards ceremony
in Washington, D.C. which includes meetings with STEM education, research, and policy leaders. Up to
sixteen awards may be made from the nominations received by June 5, 2013.

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION
INDIVIDUAL Nominees: An Individual nominee must be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident with five or
more years of demonstrated exceptional mentoring in STEM. Individuals in industry, academia, primary
and secondary education, military and government, non-profit organizations, and foundations are eligible.
Nominees may be federal government employees except for those identified in the U.S. Code Title 5.
Federal employees should consult their Office of General Counsel to determine eligibility. Former
Individual PAESMEM award recipients are not eligible for an additional Individual award. Please note
that prior or current federal funding is not required to be eligible for an Individual award.
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ORGANIZATIONAL Nominees: An Organizational nominee must be affiliated with a U.S. corporation,
educational institution or agency, military or government agency, non-profit organization, or foundation
and have five or more years of demonstrated exceptional mentoring in STEM. Former recipients of the
Organizational PAESMEM award may be re-nominated 10 years or more after receiving an award.
Please note that prior or current federal funding is not required to be eligible for an Organizational award.
An Individual or Organizational nominee may be nominated only once per competition. Nominations for
different Individual or Organizational awards may be submitted from the same corporation, institution,
agency or organization in the same competition.
For a list of past awardees, please consult PAESMEM.net/awards or www.nsf.gov/PAESMEM.

NOMINATION PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1: Prepare Nomination Materials
The INDIVIDUAL Nomination Package should include four sections described below:
1. The nominee's mentoring philosophy (include references to any literature and models that were
used to develop the mentoring philosophy, if applicable). (1 to 2 pages)
2. The nominee's mentoring accomplishments (up to 6 pages). A description of the activities and
strategies employed as a mentor including the number of years of experience and the reason for
targeting the chosen population of students, trainees, and/or early career scientists and engineers.
Clearly delineate the achievements of the individual nominee as separate from achievements of his
or her corporation, institution, agency or organization. Suggested components:
Explain how the nominee's mentoring activities are above and beyond those expected from
others employed in similar positions.
Explain how the mentoring activities were designed and tailored to meet the needs and
interests of the mentees.
Describe any innovative mentoring activities developed and implemented by the nominee that
could be adopted by others, if applicable.
Describe other awards and recognitions received by the nominee, if applicable.
Include quantitative information on the impact of the mentoring, such as:
The number and demographics of personally mentored students, trainees, and/or early
career scientists and engineers. If including lists of mentees by name do not include
demographic information which is protected personally identifiable information. Provide
summary aggregate demographic information on mentees;
Outcome information on mentees personally mentored, such as academic achievement,
retention, degree attainment, research productivity, career placement, career
satisfaction, promotion, attainment of leadership roles, etc.
3. Between two and five letters of support (at least two letters of support are required).
Letters can be from mentees as well as colleagues familiar with the nominee's work.
4. A two page resume or curriculum vitae for the nominee with current contact information.
The ORGANIZATIONAL Nomination Package should include five sections described below:
1. A brief description of the organization. (1 page)
2. The organization's mentoring philosophy (include references to any literature and models that were
used to develop the mentoring philosophy, if applicable). (1 to 2 pages)
3. The organization's mentoring accomplishments (up to 6 pages). A description of the organizational
activities and strategies employed as well as the number of years of experience and the reason for
targeting the chosen population of students, trainees, and/or early career scientists and engineers.
Suggested components:
Explain how the mentoring activities were designed and tailored to meet the needs and
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interests of the mentees.
Describe any innovative mentoring activities developed and implemented by the organization
that could be adopted by others, if applicable.
Describe the organization's assessment of the mentoring activities.
Describe other awards and recognitions received by the organization, if applicable.
Include quantitative information on the impact of the mentoring, such as:
The number and demographics of mentees impacted by the organization's activities. If
including lists of mentees by name do not include demographic information which is
protected personally identifiable information. Provide summary aggregate demographic
information on mentees;
Outcome information on mentees such as academic achievement, retention, degree
attainment, research productivity, career placement, promotion, attainment of
leadership roles, etc.
4. Between two and five letters of support (at least two letters of support are required).
Letters can be from mentees as well as colleagues familiar with the organization's work.
5. A two page resume or curriculum vitae for the organizational representative(s) with current contact
information (one primary representative is required and up to four other organizational
representatives can be included).

STEP 2: SUBMIT NOMINATION MATERIALS
Combine all the prepared nomination materials described above into one Adobe PDF or Microsoft
Word file.
Download the PAESMEM Certification Form at www.nsf.gov/PAESMEM. Sign the Certification
Form and scan to create an electronic copy.
Send an email to Mentor@nsf.gov with the nomination materials and the signed Certification Form
attached. Please include your name, daytime telephone number, and email address in the text of
the email. Do not include other information in the text of the email. Incomplete nomination
packages will not be considered for the award.
Please include the word "NOMINATION" in the subject line of your email to Mentor@nsf.gov.
If the word "NOMINATION" is in the subject line, you will receive an automatic email
indicating that NSF has received your email and attached document(s). Note that this email
reply does NOT confirm that the nomination is complete or readable. You must ensure that
the nomination materials are complete including the signed PAESMEM Certification Form
and that the documents are in a format that can be opened and read using standard software
before sending your nomination materials.
The nomination materials must be sent by email no later than 6 pm your local time on June 5,
2013. Early submission is encouraged.
Note that nomination materials cannot be revised once submitted. If revisions are required please
resubmit a new complete package before the deadline. The nomination package with the latest
date and time before the deadline will be considered the final version.

REVIEW AND AWARD PROCESSING
PAESMEM nominations will be reviewed by a panel of mentoring and STEM experts for the overall
impact, significance, and quality of the mentoring activities described in the nomination materials.
Individual Criteria:
Impact: Are the impacts and outcomes of the mentoring outstanding?
Significance: Are the mentoring accomplishments above and beyond what would be expected for
other individuals in similar positions?
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Quality: How well has the nominee designed, tailored, and implemented the mentoring activities
and strategies for the targeted mentees?
Organizational Criteria:
Impact: Are the impacts and outcomes of the mentoring outstanding?
Significance: Are the mentoring activities and strategies regarded as exemplars and have potential
for wider implementation?
Quality: How well has the nominee designed, tailored, and implemented the mentoring activities
and strategies for the targeted mentees? and How well has the organization assessed the impacts
of the mentoring activities?
Awardees will be notified by the White House or NSF. The timing of the awards announcement and
ceremony activities is dependent on the White House calendar; therefore the award announcement and
ceremony dates are not fixed every year. The NSF will notify nominees who were not selected for the
award as soon as possible after the awardees are notified.
Please contact PAESMEM@nsf.gov for all questions on the nomination materials content, allowable file
formats, and other submission questions. If you cannot email attachments contact PAESMEM@nsf.gov
by May 24, 2013 in order to make alternative arrangements before the nomination deadline. Additional
information on PAESMEM including outreach materials, FAQs on PAESMEM (NSF 13-045), and other
resources may be found at www.nsf.gov/PAESMEM.
DEADLINE: All materials must be submitted to Mentor@nsf.gov by 6 pm your local time on June 5,
2013. Early submission is encouraged.
Sincerely,
Joan Ferrini-Mundy
Assistant Director
Directorate for Education and Human Resources
National Science Foundation
Privacy Act Statement
The information requested on the application materials is solicited under the authority of the National
Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. It will be used in connection with the selection of qualified
applicants and may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the review process,
and to government contractors as necessary to complete assigned work, and to a court or party in a
court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is a party. Notice of the decision may be
given to nominators, and disclosure may be made of awardees names, home institutions, and field of
study for public information purposes including press releases. See Systems of Records, NSF-12,
"Fellowships and Other Awards," 63 Federal Register 265 (January 5, 1998). Submission of the
information is voluntary; however, failure to provide full and complete information may reduce the
possibility of receiving an award.
Public Burden Statement
Pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5 (b), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB control
number for this collection is 3145-0023. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to average 20 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send
comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, Division of
Administrative Services, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230.
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