The SPIE Senior Member Committee is chartered by the SPIE Board of Directors to solicit, collect, evaluate, and recommend an annual class of SPIE Members for promotion to Senior Member. Based upon the recommendations of the Senior Member Committee, individuals are promoted to the rank of Senior Member by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.
Eligibility
According to the bylaws of SPIE, the Board of Directors may confer the grade of Senior Member on a Member who:
1) is a voting Member (not a Student Member) of the Society for a cumulative period of a minimum of five years; this requirement of at least five years (60 months) of cumulative voting membership must be reached no later than the posted date of the nomination deadline.
2) has become distinguished through significant contributions in one or more of the following areas:
a. active involvement with the Society,
b. service to the general optics and photonics community, and/or
c. technical contributions relevant to SPIE.
Eligible members may hold the current rank of regular, life, special consideration, or retired Member of the Society.
Nomination requirements
In order for the Society to fairly and accurately evaluate an individual's nomination to the grade of Senior Member of the Society, the nominator should provide the following:
The SPIE Senior Member Nomination Form that requests a detailed description of one or more of the following categories. No individual is expected to meet all of the criteria listed under each category.
Significant performance* that would serve to qualify an individual for elevation to Senior Member need not have occurred in the years immediately prior to the application. Thus, life and retired members are eligible for elevation.
*Notes on significant performance: Many prospective applicants make the mistake of assuming that "significant performance" requires special awards, patents, or other extremely sophisticated technical accomplishments; such is not the case. Substantial job responsibilities such as team leader, task supervisor, person in charge of a program or project, engineer or scientist performing research with some measure of success (papers), or faculty developing, teaching courses with research and publications, all are indications of significant performance well as the following:
Significant performance that would serve to qualify an individual for elevation to Senior Member need not have occurred in the years immediately prior to the application. Thus, life and retired members are eligible for elevation.
Contributions to SPIE
Contributions to optics and photonics community
Technical accomplishments
Supporting documentation
1. A curriculum vitae or résumé including (as available):
2. Nomination Support and Letters of Recommendation
SPIE Members may nominate themselves or other individuals as candidates for SPIE Senior Member status. If a person nominates themselves, then two colleagues must second the nomination by providing letters of recommendation (at least one must be an SPIE Member). If another Member makes the nomination, then one colleague must second the nomination by providing a letter of recommendation. A nomination cover letter from the nominator may also serve as a support letter.
Additional information
The Senior Member Committee will notify all nominators, in writing, of their acceptance or other action being taken in regard to the individual nominee being considered.
All nomination materials must be submitted to SPIE by 15 March of the given year, allowing for the submission of nomination support materials until 1 April.
In the event that a nominee is not chosen as a Senior Member of the Society the first time he or she is nominated, the next two consecutive committees will automatically consider him or her for Senior Member. Nominators are encouraged to ask for feedback and update or add to the nomination materials, if appropriate, prior to the next year's deadline.