CIRES Award Program Policy
As a world leader in Environmental Sciences, CIRES is committed to conducting innovative research that advances our understanding of the global, regional, and local environments and the human relationship with those environments, for the benefit of society.
To further its mission and to enhance morale, CIRES has developed an award program to recognize excellence and extraordinary effort by its employees. In addition, the program promotes the goal of achieving equity for CIRES employees collaborating with NOAA employees in the Boulder NOAA labs. This award program has multiple elements.
Outstanding Performance Awards
CIRES annually solicits nominations from all CIRES Fellows and staff for outstanding performance by an individual or team during the previous year. These nominations are reviewed by a committee of employees to select awardees in two categories. Science and Engineering Awards recognize CIRES members for outstanding contributions to scientific research or engineering work, and Service Awards recognize CIRES members for outstanding service in administration, information technology, project management, outreach, or other work not directly related to scientific research or Engineering.
In evaluating the nominations, careful attention is given to: demonstration of initiative, resourcefulness, and creativity; work that has had a substantial impact within and external to the nominee's workplace; work performance that is extraordinary relative to regular job responsibilities; performance that reflects the nominee's willingness to seek out new challenges. The Awards Committee submits its recommendations to the CIRES Director for final selection. The CIRES Director makes the final determination of number of awards to be given, if any, and awardees.
Awardees receive monetary awards and engraved plaques; their names are also engraved on CIRES Outstanding Performance Award plaques that hang in CIRES buildings.
Typical award amounts are $2,000 for each award, divided equally among team members. Under this award policy CIRES may vary the amount of the Outstanding Performance awards at its discretion.
Click here to submit an OPA nomination
NOAA Research Outstanding Scientific Paper Awards
NOAA Research established Outstanding Scientific Paper awards to recognize Federal employee authors who have published outstanding scientific papers. Nominations are solicited annually from NOAA laboratories and research units across the U.S. NOAA Research establishes a list of reviewers and a Selection Board to decide the winning papers. NOAA awards money to Federal authors and co-authors on a sliding scale.
Each NOAA Federal employee author/co-author receives leadership recognition and a monetary award, which varies by year (most recently, co-authors received $500 each; single authors, $1,250).
Frequently these Outstanding Scientific Papers are co-authored by CIRES scientists. NOAA cannot grant monetary awards to non-Federal employees. CIRES provides monetary awards to CIRES coauthors of NOAA Research Outstanding Scientific Papers. The monetary amounts may vary from Federal amounts at the discretion of the CIRES Director. All awards must be approved by the CIRES Director.
Eligibility is limited to CIRES employees who are co-authors of papers named Outstanding Scientific Papers by NOAA Research.
In addition CIRES may make a CIRES Outstanding Scientific Paper award to CIRES authors or co-authors of papers written without NOAA co-authors any time in the judgment of the CIRES Director with the concurrence of the CIRES Executive Committee such an award is justified. Monetary amounts should be comparable to the NOAA scale.
Cash-in-a-Flash Recognition Program
This program rewards and encourages exceptional achievement by CIRES employees by providing a cash award based on successful nominations. Nominations for a CIRES cash award should cite specific accomplishments that are above and beyond normal fulfillment of an individual's job description.
The program resembles but does not copy the NOAA Cash-in-Your-Account program and is part of CIRES' broad effort to achieve equitable treatment for CIRES employees in the Boulder NOAA labs. The goal is to provide significant recognition to outstanding employee accomplishments in any CIRES unit wherever located. All CIRES employees are eligible except CIRES Fellows and Senior Management.
Recipients may receive awards in net amounts of $50 - $1,000 in increments of $50.
An employee, as an individual or part of a group, may not exceed a total of $1,000 per calendar year under this program.
There is no limitation on the number of awards granted to an employee as long as the dollar amount does not exceed the $1,000.00 limitation.
Nominations may be made by any NOAA or University employee.
To submit an award nomination please send an email to CIRES HR (cireshr@colorado.edu) with the below information included.
- Name(s) of candidate CIRES employee (s)
- The amount requested in increments of $50
- A specific statement of the achievement or work that justifies the award. This should be a description of the work and a statement regarding how this is above and beyond normal fulfillment of an individual's job description.
- A concurring statement from the CIRES employee's supervisor (required) and a concurring statement from employee's science advisor (highly recommended). An email message from each is sufficient.
- A statement of budget approval and speed type for the funding source from the respective CIRES finance manager.
Completed applications will be reviewed by the CIRES Associate Director for Science and forwarded to the CIRES Director for final approval.
Once awards are approved, CIRES HR team will process the awards for payment.
CIRES Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals, and Technology Transfer Award
CIRES employees are sometimes members of a collaborative CIRES-NOAA team, the Federal members of which receive NOAA or Department of Commerce Bronze, Silver or Gold Medal awards, or a NOAA Technology Transfer Award. CIRES endeavors to award CIRES members of such teams comparable medals and awards, which are typically custom-made plaques made of wood, metal, plastic and textiles; no monetary award is normally attached. In the event NOAA provides monetary awards to Federal members of such teams, CIRES will endeavor to make comparable monetary awards to CIRES members. Eligibility is limited to CIRES employees on collaborative CIRES-NOAA teams, the Federal members of which receive NOAA or DOC medals and awards. Identification of CIRES team members is made in consultation with CIRES supervisors and NOAA personnel. Approval of awards rests with the CIRES Director.
Other NOAA Awards
When NOAA teams in Boulder earn new types of recognition from NOAA, the Department of Commerce, or other institutions that cannot recognize affiliates such as CIRES team members, CIRES strives to recognize its employees in similar ways. For example, CIRES members of a team that earned a NOAA Employee of the Year award (sometimes given to groups) would receive a plaque resembling the NOAA plaques. Identification of CIRES team members is made in consultation with CIRES supervisors and NOAA personnel. Approval of awards rests with the CIRES Director.
CIRES Length of Service and Retirement Recognition Award
CIRES annually recognizes employees who hit years of service milestones: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, etc.. Awards for 5, 10 and 15 years are certificates only. For 20, 25, 30 and higher, physical awards vary by year, and are typically inscribed custom plaques, clocks, vases or other glass, wood and metal items. Years of service awards do not exceed $400 in value. Gifts for retiring employees are typically less than $400, and receptions recognizing long-term employees are typically about $1,000.
Student Awards
- Reid Scholarship: Every other year, CIRES awards $1,500 to a graduate student, thanks in part to a gift from the George C. and Joan A. Reid family. To be eligible for nomination, graduate students must be currently enrolled in an academic department at University of Colorado Boulder, and their primary advisor must be a CIRES Fellow or CIRES researcher. Nominations are solicited from CIRES staff, researchers, and postdocs, and the CIRES Director and CIRES Associate Director for Science select a winner. Nomination criteria include demonstrated scholarly achievement and community service to CIRES and the greater university.
- Outstanding Scientific Paper Awards: CIRES Fellows and Researchers may award the graduate student authors of excellent peer-reviewed papers up to $500. This award is meant for very high-impact papers that draw extraordinary scientific or public attention