[robotics-worldwide] New Award - Dick Volz Best US PhD Thesis in Robotics and Automation

[hic at cc.gatech.edu]

                Call for nomination for
Dick Volz Best US PhD Thesis in Robotics and Automation 

Background

Prof. Dick Volz during his research career did excellent research 
on robotics and control, and was an excellent mentor to students 
and other researchers in robotics. He served on a number of national 
panels and was very active within the IEEE Robotics and Automation 
Society in a number of roles including serving as the society 
president during 2006-2007. Prof. Volz is a role model for 
scholarship and community engagement in the area of robotics. To 
honor his work and effort, and promote these values, the Dick 
Volz award has been organized to be awarded to the best US Ph.D. 
thesis. Candidates will be considered two years after graduation to 
allow for evaluation of the impact of the research in a broader 
perspective beyond the thesis. 

Candidates profile

The candidates will be researchers in the field of robotics and 
automation having obtained their Ph.D. degree at any US institution 
during 2007, in any topic within robotics and automation.

Evaluation criteria

The criteria to evaluate the thesis research will be based both, on 
the thesis quality, and also on the posterior results of any activity 
associated with the thesis, such as: papers, articles, research projects etc.

Candidatures presentation

The candidates must send their applications to the address below 
before end of October 2010. 

Henrik I Christensen
RIM at GT, Georgia Tech
801 Atlantic Dr
Atlanta, Ga 30332-0280
Email: hic at cc.gatech.edu

The application should include:

- A copy of the Ph.D. thesis in pdf format
- A document describing the effective results of the Ph. D., (patents, 
  applications, developments, participation in scientific events, publications, 
  etc.), with clear indications of the relation to the thesis
- A recommendation letter from the advisor
- A C.V. for the candidate
- An abstract of the Thesis, max 10 pages long, with clear indication of the 
  main contributions

Review procedure

A jury consisting of five members will evaluate the submissions. The inaugural jury 
is composed of

Prof. John Hollerbach, Univ. of Utah 
Prof. Gaurav Sukhatme, Univ. of Southern California
Prof. Seth Hutchinson, Univ. of Illinois Urbana Champaign
Prof. Vijay Kumar, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Prof. Henrik I Christensen, Georgia Tech. (Chair)

The jury will discuss the proposals based on the collected information: the 
documentation presented, reviews, and scientific and technical production. After 
their deliberation they will make the final decision including a justification.

The award

There will be a single award. The winner will receive a check for $1000 and  be 
invited to publish  the thesis/work as part of the Springer STAR series. The winner 
and the two runner ups will each receive a plaque with the award information. 

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Henrik I Christensen, PhD                       
Director, Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines
KUKA Chair of Robotics/Distinguished Professor, Interactive Computing 
College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
801 Atlantic Dr, Atlanta, GA 30332-0280
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Phone +1 404 385 7480, Email hic at cc.gatech.edu Cell +1 404 889 2500
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