Call for Nominations for the 2026 Distinguished Research Award

The Committee on Senate Awards invites nominations for the Academic Senate Distinguished Research Award. These awards recognize faculty members whose research has made a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge. The Academic Senate will select up to four members of the faculty to receive this prestigious award. Each recipient is asked to present a lecture on a topic of their choice, is honored with a reception prior to the lecture, and receives a $1,500 honorarium.

Nominations must be accompanied by a letter that includes:

an explanation of the nominee’s field of expertise;
an explanation of the nominee’s research contributions and how they are novel, creative, and impactful in relation to the work of peers and within the discipline or sub-field, identifying specific articles, books, or creative work and productions that epitomize the nominee’s contributions;
an explanation, where applicable, of the wider impact of the nominee’s research;
a discussion of the nominee’s ability to deliver an engaging and provocative lecture having broad audience appeal;
and a brief statement about the probable focus of the nominee’s lecture.

The Committee solicits nominations of any worthy candidates, but encourages Department chairs to consider nominating senior candidates whose distinction can be readily documented.

The Committee on Senate Awards is charged with recommending the award recipients to the Representative Assembly. Nominations due date: April 17, 2026. Please send nominations to the Committee on Senate Awards via email to Linda George at lkvong@ucsd.edu. For questions about the call, please contact Linda George at lkvong@ucsd.edu.

Rebecca Rakow-Penner
Chair, Committee on Senate Awards

University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093