International Electric Propulsion Conference Best Paper Award
A. Description
The International Electric Propulsion Conference (IEPC) Best Paper Award is an Electric Rocket Propulsion Society (ERPS)-sponsored award that is presented for each conference to all co-authors of the selected paper. This Award recognizes the authors of the paper which is judged to be the best in terms of quality, innovativeness, significance of the work described, and excellence of the presentation.
B. Administration
The ERPS Board of Directors will appoint a Chair of the Best Paper Award selection process for each edition of the IEPC. The leader may be a member of the ERPS Board of Directors or a member of one of the Conference Committees for the conference. The Award will be presented at the next IEPC. The appointed selection committee Chair will contact senior members of the electric propulsion community to establish a Best Paper Selection Committee with no less than 3 members (including the Chair), which evaluate the eligible conference papers according to the criteria described below. The ERPS Awards Director will review and approve the membership of the Best Paper Selection Committee.
The timetable for evaluation must be such that the selection is made and communicated to the ERPS Board of Directors as per Section F no less than 45 days from the start of the IEPC, to permit sufficient time for notification of the recipient(s) and preparation and shipment of award materials for presentation.
C. Eligibility
All papers successfully submitted and presented at the corresponding conference are eligible for the Best Paper Award.
D. Paper Recommendations
Recommendations are provided by all session chairs and co-chairs of that Conference. A Best-Paper Recommendation Form is completed at the end of each session in the Technical Program. The Conference Organizing Committee is responsible for providing blank recommendation forms to all session chairs and co-chairs, and for collecting and returning the completed and signed forms to the ERPS and the leader of the Best Paper Award selection process. Those papers recommended by at least one session co-chair shall be considered for Best Paper Award.
Papers recommended from the poster session in the manner described in the Best Poster Award rules shall also be considered for the Best Paper Award.
All recommended papers from the oral presentation sessions and from the poster presentations will be considered by the committee.
E. Evaluation Criteria
The papers will be ranked based on the following judging criteria, which carry equal weight:
1. Quality of the work: Are the theoretical / experimental / numerical results of a high quality? Are sources of error and uncertainty discussed? (25%)
2. Innovativeness of the work: Does the paper demonstrate an innovative and original approach to addressing the paper's topic? (25%)
3. Significance and potential impact on the field: Do the presented approach and results have the potential to significantly impact the field of electric propulsion? For example, can the findings contribute to a breakthrough or paradigm shift in understanding, lead to improvements in the design, manufacturability, cost, performance, or lifetime of thrusters, power processing, and/or feed systems, or change the way planners apply electric propulsion in missions? Do they create new opportunities for research, development, or application in the field? Examples of impact might include the development of valuable new concepts, meaningful enhancements to existing approaches, or expanded opportunities for integrating electric propulsion into innovative mission planning. (25%)
4. Excellence of presentation, clarity, organization, and conciseness: Is the paper well written and well organized? Is the paper easy to read and follow? Are the authors’ discussions and explanations concise and to the point? Are the graphics clear and easy to interpret? (25%)
F. Ratification
Once the best paper is selected by the Best Paper Selection Committee, the selection is presented by the Selection Committee Chair through the ERPS Awards Chair to the ERPS Board of Directors for ratification. The Awardee will be notified of their selection by the ERPS President.
G. Award Value
The authors of the selected paper will receive a total stipend of $1,000.00.
