APS Fellowship

Rules and eligibility

Nominating a colleague for APS Fellowship is a way to commend them for excellence in physics and their service to the physics community.

To nominate a colleague for APS Fellowship, you and the additional nominating co-sponsor must be active APS members.

Please also ensure that the individual is an APS member in good standing.

Process and selection

To nominate a colleague for APS Fellowship, please include the following:

• The nominee's name
• The co-sponsor's name, and email address
• A 300 character suggested citation that does not include the nominee's name, gendered pronouns, or symbols, and begins with, "For..."
• A 2,500 character paragraph expanding on the citation to indicate the originality and significance of the contributions
• A PDF sponsor's recommendation letter
• The co-sponsor's recommendation letter, which must be uploaded by the co-sponsor
• The nominee's curriculum vitae (CV), which must include academic and employment history, professional honors, a list of principal publications only, and other significant contributions to physics
• Optional: Up to two additional PDF letters of support, which must be uploaded by the letter writers

The online submission process

Nomination materials should be submitted through the APS online system, which can be accessed using your APS credentials.

To begin your nomination:

• Select "Start Nomination."
• Complete the form and upload related files.
• If you wish to save your nomination in progress to edit later, you may do so.
• Select "Finalize" to complete your nomination when you are ready to submit.

Each APS Fellowship nomination is evaluated by the Fellowship Committee of the appropriate APS division, topical group, forum, or by the APS General Fellowship Committee. After review by the full APS Fellowship Committee, APS Council elects the final, successful candidates.

Fellowship committee members include:

• John Marston, chair
• David Hall
• William Ratcliff
• Robert Bernstein

Fellow nomination review

As experts in their unique areas within physics, each unit's Fellowship Committee, composed and defined by the unit's bylaws, review and recommend fellows for election. The APS Fellowship Committee reviews and approves these recommendations, which are then reviewed and approved by the APS Council Steering Committee.

Notification

The APS President then sends a notification letter to the elected Fellow and the Fellow's sponsor, co-sponsor, selection committee chair, unit chair, and unit secretary. APS also announces the elected fellows through our website and other platforms.

APS Honors staff notify sponsors and nominees who were not elected as Fellows.

Carryover review

If an individual is not elected as an APS Fellow, the nomination may be eligible for carryover review in the new cycle the following year. Sponsors and co-sponsors will be reminded to update and resubmit their Fellow nomination, if eligible. The nomination must be resubmitted by the submission deadline.

Nominations for APS Fellowship expire after two years. If a nomination has expired, the sponsor and co-sponsor may submit it as a new nomination.

Contact

If you have questions about the APS Fellowship submission process, please email the APS Honors team.

Nomination deadlines

APS Fellowship nominations open in January 2024. APS and our units have specific deadlines.

View the APS Fellowship nomination deadlines for each unit

Recent recipients