About

The Research Communicator Impact Award is administered by the Division of Research and winners are selected by a committee of faculty and staff representing multiple disciplines. Distinguished University Professor Ben Shneiderman, of the computer science department and founding director of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory, initiated the award as part of his advocacy for broad communications about research.
Eligibility
To be considered for the 2019 Research Communicator Impact Award, submissions must meet the following criteria:
- Accessible to and intended for a broad, general public audience
- Relevant to current topics, events, and issues of societal importance
- Published or released between Jan. 1, 2018 and Dec. 31, 2018
- Entry must be submitted by January 22, 2019
- The following faculty are eligible for nomination: tenure track, professional, instructional, and research faculty. The primary appointment must be at the University of Maryland, College Park, and greater than or equal to 50 percent
- Self-nominations and nominations by UMD peers will be accepted
Submission Formats
- Op-Ed in News Outlet (Entries must be self-authored and published in a news outlet. )
- New Media (Entries may include videos, radio segments, podcasts, and other works of new media. )
- Faculty Cited in Media (Entries must include quotes or references to UMD research from more than one news article. Entrants will be evaluated based on number of articles in which the faculty member was cited and impact of related news outlets. Faculty affiliation with the University of Maryland must be identified.)
Evaluative Criteria
Entries will be evaluated by a committee based on:
- Impact and Visibility: Prominence of news outlet, readership, engagement (comments, shares or views), etc.
- Quality of Writing
- Timeliness and Relevance
Submit a nomination for the 2019 Research Communicator Impact Award.