Arthur B. Metzner Early Career Award

Photo of Prof. Arthur B. Metzner
Prof. Arthur B. Metzner

Distinguished Rheologist, Past Editor of the Journal of Rheology, and 1977 Bingham Medalist

The Arthur B. Metzner Early Career Award shall be given, at most annually, to a young person who has distinguished him/herself in rheological research, rheological practice, or service to rheology. The year of a nominee's terminal degree cannot be earlier than the twelfth year prior to the year of the award for which he/she is a candidate. The award will consist of a plaque and a $7,500 honorarium.

Nominations for 2024 Metzner Award

Metzner Awardees

Award Mechanism

The Metzner Award Committee shall be appointed by the President by at least December 1st of the year before the award is to be given. The Committee shall consist of five members, each serving three-year staggered terms. It is desirable that a previous winner be a member. The President shall appoint the chair of the committee from among the senior members of the committee.

The Metzner Award Committee shall consider, in a manner consistent with procedures established by the Executive Committee, nominations submitted by any member of the Society by a designated Friday around February 20th. By the following April 1st, or prior to the Spring Executive Committee meeting, the Chair of the Metzner Award Committee shall convey its recommendation (the name of the recipient or the decision not to award) to the President and to the Secretary of the Society. The President in turn shall transmit the recommendation to the Executive Committee for approval. The official announcement of the award to the recipient and to the membership shall be made by the Secretary in advance of the actual award presentation at the Annual Meeting. The dates outlined in this paragraph shall be adjusted as necessary in those years in which the International Congress of Rheology is held outside of North America.

The Society of Rheology is a diverse community, actively committed to 'promoting diversity, equity and inclusion among all of our members' as well as seeking to 'understand and remove barriers to diversity, equity and inclusion in our community, as well as obstacles to professional growth and advancement of our membership'. As such, nominations from members belonging to groups traditionally underrepresented or underrecognized in our community are particularly encouraged. The Awards Committees are committed to engaging in the selection processes from the pool of nominees without bias or discrimination, and to recognizing outstanding contributions to the field of rheology, regardless of the nominee's race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, physical appearance and ability, socioeconomic background, region, and immigrant, military, or veteran status.

Guidelines for Nominations

Nominations shall include the following information in a single PDF file:

  • 1.  A nomination letter from someone other than the nominee.
  • 2.  A two-page summary containing the following:
  • A brief scientific biography.
  • A review of those accomplishments upon which the nomination is based.
  • A brief summary of participation in Society activities. (New this year!)
  • 3.  A curriculum vitae of the nominee with publication list.
  • 4.  No more than two supporting letters that address the nominee’s contributions. (Updated this year!)
  • 5.  No more than a 50-word citation, written by the nominator, which would be used in the event the nominee receives the award.
  • 6.  A high-resolution headshot of the nominee suitable for publication. The headshot should be at least 400 pixels wide and 500 pixels high. Add the image to the end of the PDF file. To retain the resolution of the image, do the following:
  • Add a blank page at the end of your Word document. After the document is saved as a PDF, open the PDF with Adobe Acrobat or equivalent PDF editor. Go to the blank page at the end. Select Edit Text & Images or equivalent and then select Add Image. Select the desired image from your folder. This procedure will retain the resolution of the image. If you add the image to the Word document, its resolution is usually reduced.

If there are multiple top nominees that are substantively equal, priority will be given to the nominee with fewer remaining years of eligibility.

Unsuccessful nominations may be reconsidered in a subsequent year if the nominee is still qualified and the nominator sends a letter requesting reconsideration to the chair of the Metzner Award Committee.

All nominations are subject to the following rules:

  • 1.  Only one active Metzner nomination per nominator is allowed. Note that an unsuccessful Metzner nomination can be active, if the nominee is still qualified and the nominator requests reconsideration, for the following year.
  • 2.  Only one new Metzner recommendation letter is allowed for each recommender per year.
  • 3.  A nominator should not write a recommendation letter for another nominee in the same year.
  • 4.  Members of the Metzner Award Committee should not be involved in nominating a candidate or in writing letters of support. Supporting letters written by committee members prior to being appointed to the committee are acceptable.
  • 5.  The SoR officer (president or past president) who set up the Metzner Award Committee is prohibited from nominating or writing a letter.