SLAS Innovation Award

The SLAS Innovation Award selection process is based on a three-tiered evaluation system:

Selection of the SLAS Podium Presentations

In assembling the program, the Annual Conference Program Committee selects qualifying podium presentations from the abstracts received in the Call for Abstracts submission period. To qualify for entry into the SLAS Innovation Award contest, an abstract must be received prior to the Call for Abstracts deadline of Monday, August 5, 2019, and the author must opt-in for consideration using the appropriate check box.

Preliminary Screening

Working from the conference's selected abstracts, the panel of judges scores all the abstracts thereby identifying the SLAS Innovation Award Finalists for evaluation at the SLAS Annual Conference. The panel of judge will review only those podium presentations selected and slotted for the conference by the Annual Conference Program Committee. Short course instructors, poster presenters and plenary speakers* are not eligible unless they have also been accepted into the SLAS2020 Scientific Program. All candidates must adhere to the SLAS Abstract Submission policies, timelines, rules and regulations.

Request for Additional Information

As part of the preliminary screening process, and in coordination with the Chair and panel of judges, a candidate author may be contacted to answer further questions.

*Plenary speakers are not eligible to submit their plenary talk for consideration for the SLAS Innovation Award. However, those individuals giving a plenary talk may also choose to submit an abstract to be considered for the SLAS2020 Scientific Program and to be considered for the SLAS Innovation Award upon acceptance into the program.

The panel of judges will attend and evaluate each of the candidate's presentations and will collectively select the winner of the SLAS Innovation Award after all presentations are complete. While scoring the presentations, the judges will consider:

Impact on Life Sciences and Technology

Will this work make a noticeable contribution to the field of life sciences and technology? Will it substantially reduce the cost, change the workflow or improve the quality of laboratory processes? Is the method robust enough to allow routine implementation? Will it have widespread adoption over the next 10 years? Did the presenter explain why he/she was doing the research and who will benefit from this research/technology? Would this advancement only benefit a small group of people, or could it have far reaching/global impact and change laboratory automation as we know it?

Originality/Creativity

How novel is the approach or solution? Is this work a creative solution to a new problem or a new twist on an old theme? Can this approach be applied to a range of problems or is it limited to one particular case? Is this "copycat" science applied to a slightly different problem?

Quality of the Science

Was the experiment performed properly? Can improvements be made either with the science or the technology? Do the data reflect reaching a fundamental limit? What is the confidence that the result is correct? Are the results repeatable and were the results repeated? Are there better methods to solve the same problem? Did the presenter appropriately report any limitations of the methods? If this work is early in development, are there any major hurdles to overcome prior to widespread success? Does the presenter understand the uncertainty of the measurements/methods?

Oral Presentation

Was the oral presentation in alignment with the written abstract? Did the presenter explain the key concept(s) well enough so that a well-educated listener could follow his/her main train of thought? Was the presenter able to keep the audience's attention throughout the presentation? Was the presentation well organized with respect to its look-and-feel (e.g., large enough fonts, suitable colors, readable graphics, etc.)? Was the presentation's content organized in a logical manner? Did the presenter answer questions from the audience in a satisfactory manner? Did the presenter provide the correct amount of background material so that the general SLAS audience can understand the subject? Did the audience seem excited by the presentation?

Each candidate presentation will be judged on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the best possible score; integers only). The scores of all judges will be consolidated for the final decision.

1. The SLAS Innovation Award panel is appointed by and serves at the discretion of the SLAS Awards and Grants Advisory Committee and the SLAS Board of Directors. The SLAS Innovation Award will follow the timeline below:
   • September — Review of podium abstracts accepted into the SLAS Annual Conference Scientific Program and selection of the top 20 to 25 SLAS Innovation Award Candidates
   • November — SLAS announces the SLAS Innovation Award Finalists (up to 10)
   • SLAS International Conference and Exhibition — Top Finalists' presentations are judged, and the selection of the Innovation Award winner is announced
   • February — Media announcements, SLAS Discovery and SLAS Technology follow-up
   • May — Manuscripts due to SLAS Discovery and/or SLAS Technology for publication
2. Candidates are encouraged to be Premier or Basic Members of SLAS to participate in the award program and/or win the SLAS Innovation Award; however, membership is not required.
3. All finalists are asked to submit a previously unpublished scientific manuscript (original research or a related review paper) for peer reviewed publication in SLAS Discovery or SLAS Technology by Monday, May 4, 2020. This manuscript must be received before the $10,000 cash award is disbursed. These requirements will be outlined in the Letter of Intent allowing SLAS to use the abstracts for press releases and other media announcements.
4. The panel of judges will review only those podium presentations selected and slotted for the conference by the Annual Conference Program Committee (not short courses, posters, or plenary presentations). All candidates must adhere to the SLAS Abstract Submission policies, timelines, rules and regulations*¹.
5. The following individuals are not eligible to participate in the SLAS Innovation Award program:
   • SLAS Board of Directors
   • SLAS Awards and Grants Advisory Committee
   • officers
   • the Annual Conference Program Committee*
   • contractors
   • employees
   • members of the Judging Panel
   • family members
   • and/or those considered to be "insiders."

Candidates affiliated with someone on the panel of judges are permitted to participate, but the judge must recuse him or herself from evaluating that candidate.

* The Annual Conference Program Committee comprises of a Chairman, Associate Chairman, Track Chairs and Associate Track Chairs. Session Chairs are not members of the Annual Conference Program Committee, and therefore are eligible to participate.

*¹Abstract Submission Policy

SLAS invites academicians, scientists and post-doctoral and graduate students to submit abstracts for scientific talks and poster presentations for this international educational forum by Monday, August 5, 2019. Presentations will be hand-picked by the Annual Conference Program Committee. Details regarding abstract submission can be found here.

To ensure that your abstract receives proper consideration for this award, please be sure to include information on methods, results and conclusions in your submitted abstract.

Rules, regulations and guidelines are subject to change at the discretion of the SLAS Board of Directors in accordance with bylaws, polices, and procedures.

The winner of the $10,000 cash prize will be announced on the final day of the SLAS2020 during the final plenary session. The following rules apply:

1. The candidate presentation author, co-author or representative must be present to accept the award at the final plenary session. If a representative is not present, the Innovation Award will be forfeited.
2. The $10,000 cash prize is awarded solely to the winning presenting author and will be sent to the winner upon receipt of their manuscript, see Rules and Regulations #4 above.
3. Once selected, the SLAS Innovation Award finalists must sign the SLAS Letter of Intent recognizing sole responsibility for the cash award and releasing SLAS of liability, taxes, candidate employer policies and any other obligations.
4. In recognition of the varying employer policies governing employee acceptance of monetary prizes, those employer policies will be recognized and honored by SLAS to the extent they are not inconsistent with and do not conflict with SLAS policy and/or GAAP. However, SLAS will not be responsible or liable for said policies. Winners have the option to decline the monetary award.

The monetary award is not to be considered an obligation of SLAS.

Non-Discrimination Statement

Discrimination based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ethnicity, veteran’s status, or physical or mental disability regarding the SLAS Innovation Award is prohibited. Each candidate shall be evaluated based on the award's criteria, which are tied to SLAS's exempt purpose of advancing the science and education of technology in the laboratory.