Call for Nominations: 2025 Secretary’s Research Prizes
Secretary Lonnie Bunch is pleased to announce that nominations are open for the 2025 Secretary’s Research Prizes. The Prizes, organized by the Smithsonian Congress of Scholars, recognize excellence in recent research across the Smithsonian and reflect the diversity of research at the Institution. All current Smithsonian employees are eligible. Up to ten prizes are awarded annually in the categories listed below. Nominations close July 11, 2025.
The Prizes will be presented to the recipients at the SI-wide event in October 2025.
Nomination Process:
For each project nomination, the specified lead researcher must be a current SI employee. SI staff may nominate their own work or that of another SI employee in one of the prize categories below. SCOS will then follow up with the nominee to provide further instructions on how to submit materials through SOLAA (the Smithsonian Academic Appointments system). Please note that co-authors, co-editors, or multiple-authored items should have a nomination on SOLAA for each individual and will be considered independently of each other. While contributions to the project can be described differently, the title of the work should be the same in each nomination.
A selection committee composed of members of the Smithsonian Congress of Scholars will review the nominations and peer reviews and forward recommendations to the Secretary. The prizes will be presented at a ceremony in the fall, and $2,000 in research funds will be placed in 402 accounts for each winning project.
To nominate a project through the SOLAA staff portal (https://solaastaff.si.edu/) use the orange “Start Nomination” button and enter Nomination Code: 255493532. You will need to enter the nominee’s name, phone number and email address, and upload a document that includes the name and category of the nominated project. If you have any SOLAA-related questions, please contact Pamela Hudson Veenbaas at hudsonp@si.edu or 202-633-7058. Any questions related to the Secretary’s Research Prizes, please contact Raid M. Suleiman at rsuleiman@cfa.harvard.edu or 617-496-7823 or Kris Juncker at junckerk@si.edu or 202-633-7105. Nominations must be submitted by July 11, 2025
Prize Categories: All nominated projects must make an original and useful contribution to knowledge on behalf of the Smithsonian. Each project will be judged on the quality of research, originality, clarity of writing and presentation, and usefulness of the research to the scholarly field and society.
Articles and chapters
Published in 2024 in peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes, or other book-length publications.
Scholarly books
Published in 2023 or 2024. Includes single-author exhibition catalogues.
Exhibition catalogues
Published in 2024. Multiple authors, at least one of whom is a Smithsonian research staff member.
Symposium Proceedings
Published in 2024. Multiple authors or editors. Organized and edited by at least one Smithsonian staff member.
Exhibitions without a published catalogue
Opened in 2024. Will be judged on quality of research and innovative selection and grouping of objects, exhibition scripts, and installation strategies.
Not a prize for education or outreach.
Audio or Moving Image Production with Accompanying Scholarly Text or Narration
Released in 2024.
Scholarly websites
Launched in 2024.
For questions, contact: rsuleiman@cfa.harvard.edu & JunckerK@si.edu
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Posted: 23 June 2025
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