Description: The GRS-S established the J-STARS Prize Paper Award to recognize the author(s) who published in the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing during the calendar year an exceptional paper in terms of content and impact on the GRS-Society.

Administration: IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (IEEE GRS-S).

Eligibility: Papers published in the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing.

Award Items: Certificate and check $1500. In case of multiple authors, each will receive a certificate, and the cash award will be shared among the co-authors.

Frequency: The award shall be presented annually to one recipient, provided a qualified paper is identified. If a suitable paper cannot be identified from among those published during the calendar year, papers published in prior years and subsequently recognized as being meritorious may be considered.
Funds:  The award is funded through the IEEE GRS-S budget. The society’s budget includes the amount for this award AND the Society budget is net positive with the inclusion of the award.
Nominee Solicitation: Nominations for the J-STARS Prize Paper Award shall be made by:
Reviewers of the GRS-S J-STARS papers
Associate Editors of GRS-S J-STARS
Editor in Chief of GRS-S J-STARS
Society members
Download the nomination form

The Editor-in-Chief compiles the list of nominated papers, along with the number of nominations and any other pertinent and appropriate data. The Editor-in-Chief is not allowed to remove any nominated paper from consideration.
The Eligibility and Selection process shall comply with procedures and regulation established in IEEE and Society governing documents, particularly with IEEE Policy 4.4 on Awards Limitations. No paper authored or coauthored by persons involved in the selection process is eligible.

Award Committee: The nominations are evaluated and ranked by the IEEE GRS-S Publications Awards Committee. The IEEE GRS-S AdCom approves the award in its spring meeting.
Schedule: The Editor in Chief of the GRS-S J-STARS is requested to forward the nominations list to the GRS-S Publications Awards Committee Chairperson mid December. The Publications Awards Committee (PAC) shall accept these nominations, evaluate and rank them and forward the ranking list to the GRS-S AdCom mid February. The GRS-S AdCom selects and approves the GRS-S J-STARS Awards Prize Paper in its spring meeting.

Selection/Basis for Judging: In selecting the paper, factors considered are originality, clarity and timeliness of the paper. IEEE membership is preferable.

Presentation: The award shall be presented at an awards ceremony during IGARSS of the year following the publication period.

Publicity: Nominations for the award shall be requested in the GRS Newsletter and on the GRS home page. A feature publication will be published in the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING and/or in the GRS-S Newsletter.

Time table: The following time table shall be the guideline:
Sept.:    request for nominations in the GRS Newsletter
Dec. 10.:    deadline for nominations to the Editor in Chief of GRS-S J-STARS
Dec. 15.:    Editor in Chief mails the nominations list to the Publications Awards Cmte Chair
Dec. 20.:    Publications Awards Cmte Chair sends nominations to Awards Cmte members
Feb. 15.:    deadline for evaluations by Publications Awards Cmte
Feb. AdCom:    approval of the GRS-S J-STARS best paper fort the award by GRS-S AdCom
March 1.:     notify recipient, request biographical sketch and photo
April 1.:    order certificate and plaque with citation from, and send signatures of both GRS-S President and Awards Committee Chair to IEEE Headquarters (allow 2 months for these items)
IGARSS:    awards presentation (Plenary or Banquet)
Prepare material for NEWSLETTER immediately after IGARSS
Sept.:    Prepare archival material for TRANSACTIONS