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2022 call for
PIASA AWARD nominations
We are accepting nominations for each of the attached awards
POLISH-JEWISH STUDIES
Call for Nominations
The Rachel Feldhay Brenner Award in Polish-Jewish Studies
The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA)
Deadline: November 15, 2022
The award, named for Rachel Feldhay Brenner (1946-2021), an eminent Polish-Israeli-American literary scholar, is given annually to the author of the best English-language book on the history and/or culture of Polish Jews.
The winner of the Rachel Feldhay Brenner Award in Polish-Jewish Studies will receive a $1000 prize and will also be recognized during the PIASA’s annual conference at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, June 9-11, 2023.
Criteria:
- The nominated book must be written in the English language
- The book must have been published during the 2021 calendar year
- Both books containing original research or new, original syntheses are eligible for consideration; edited collections and self-published books are ineligible
Nominations, including self-nominations, should include:
- A cover letter marking the submission as “Rachel Feldhay Brenner Award Nomination”
- A curriculum vitae of the nominee
- Three copies of the published book, one for each member of the award committee
Questions, including those related to contact information for sending nominations to award committee members, should be directed to Robert Blobaum at
The winner of the Rachel Feldhay Brenner Award will be selected by the following group of scholars:
Eliyana Adler, Pennsylvania State University.
Shoshana Ronen, University of Warsaw.
Piotr Wrόbel, University of Toronto.
BEST EDITED MULTI-AUTHOR SCHOLARLY VOLUME
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
The Anna M. Cienciala Award for Best Edited Multi-Author Scholarly Volume
Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America (PIASA)
Deadline: November 15, 2022
The Anna M. Cienciala Award has been established to recognize the importance of collaborative scholarship and to honor Anna Cienciala, co-editor, with Natalia S. Lebedeva and Wojciech Materski, of a major collaborative work, Katyn: A Crime without Punishment (Yale University Press, 2008). Eligible books must be edited multi-author collections of scholarly articles or essays in the various fields of Polish studies broadly understood. Editors and contributors need not be members of PIASA.
The recipient(s) of the Anna M. Cienciala Award will receive a $1000 prize and will also be recognized during the PIASA’s annual conference at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, June 9-11, 2023.
Criteria:
- The book must be written in the English language.
- The book must have appeared during the 2021 calendar year.
- Publications containing original research or new, original syntheses are eligible for consideration; self-published books are ineligible.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should include:
- A cover letter marking the submission as a “Anna M. Cienciala Award Nomination”
- A curriculum vitae of the editor or editors
- Three copies of the nominated publication, one for each member of the committee
Questions, including those relating to contact information for sending nominations to award committee members, should be directed to Robert Blobaum at
The Anna M. Cienciala Award recipient will be selected by the following group of scholars:
Marek Kornat, Polish Academy of Sciences.
Neal Pease, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Rafał Stobiecki, University of Łόdź
POLISH AND EAST-CENTRAL EUROPEAN HISTORY
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
The Oskar Halecki Polish and East-Central European History Award
Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America
Deadline: November 15, 2022
Named for an eminent historian and founding member of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America, the Oskar Halecki Award recognizes a scholar in the field of Polish and East-Central European history who has written a book of particular value and significance dealing with the Polish experience or including the Polish experience within a larger East-Central European context. The book or body of work should represent exemplary historical research and writing.
The recipient of the Oskar Halecki Award in Polish and East-Central European history will receive a $1000 prize and will also be recognized during the PIASA’s annual conference at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, June 9-11, 2023.
Criteria:
- The book or body of work must be written in the English language.
- The book must have been published during the 2021 calendar year.
- Both books containing original research or new, original syntheses are eligible for consideration; edited collections and self-publications are ineligible.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should include:
- A cover letter marking the submission as “Oskar Halecki Award Nomination”
- A curriculum vitae of the nominee
- Three copies of the nominated book, one for each member of the award committee
Questions, including those related to contact information for sending nominations to award committee members, should be directed to Robert Blobaum at
The winner of the Oskar Halecki Award will be selected by the following group of scholars:
Małgorzata Fidelis, University of Illinois Chicago.
Anna Müller, University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Brian Porter-Szücs, University of Michigan.
THE HUMANITIES
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
The Wacław Lednicki Award in the Humanities
Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America (PIASA)
Deadline: November 15, 2022
Named after the first director of the Literature and Arts Section of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America, the Wacław Lednicki Award recognizes the most outstanding book or creative work published, produced or presented in any of the fields encompassed within the Humanities as defined by the National Endowment for the Humanities, to include fine arts, history, languages, literature, philosophy, religion, etc. However, since Polish history has its own PIASA award, works in this field are ineligible.
The recipient of the Wacław Lednicki Award in the Humanities will receive a $1000 prize and will also be recognized during the PIASA’s annual conference at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, June 9-11, 2023.
Criteria:
- If the nomination is based on a book, film, play or literary translation, it must be written or rendered in the English language.
- The book or cultural product must have been published or appeared in 2021.
- Both books containing original research or new, original syntheses are eligible for consideration; edited collections and self-publications are ineligible.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should include:
- A cover letter marking the submission as “Wacław Lednicki Award Nomination”
- A curriculum vitae of the nominee
- Three copies of the nominated book, one for each member of the award committee
Questions, including those related to contact information for sending nominations to award committee members, should be directed to Robert Blobaum at
The Lednicki Award winner will be selected by the following group of scholars:
Marek Haltof, Northern Michigan University.
Kris Salata, Florida State University.
Joanna Trzeciak Huss, Kent State University.
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
The Bronisław Malinowski Award in the Social Sciences
Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America
Deadline: November 15, 2022
Named for the eminent social scientist and founding member and first president of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America, the Bronisław Malinowski Award recognizes a scholar in one of the fields of the social sciences who has written a book or seminal publication of particular value and significance dealing with an aspect of the Polish experience. In past instances, the Malinowski Award has also recognized a scholar’s outstanding body of published work. The book, outstanding publication, or body of work should represent exemplary scholarly research published in the fields encompassed by the social sciences, including anthropology, economics, political science and sociology, according to standards recognized by those disciplines.
The recipient of the Bronislaw Malinowski Award in the Social Sciences will receive a $1000 prize and will also be recognized during the PIASA’s annual conference at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, June 9-11, 2023.
Criteria:
- The book, publication, or body of work must be written in the English language.
- The book or publication must have appeared in 2021. If the nomination is based on a body of work, it must include a significant publication within the last five calendar years.
- Publications containing original research or new, original syntheses are eligible for consideration; edited collections and self-published books are ineligible.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should include:
- A cover letter marking the submission as a “Bronislaw Malinowski Award Nomination”
- A curriculum vitae of the nominee
- Three copies of the nominated publication, one for each member of the committee
Questions, including those related to contact information for sending nominations to award committee members, should be directed to Robert Blobaum at
The Bronislaw Malinowski Award recipient will be selected by the following group of scholars:
Michael Bernhard, University of Florida.
Jan Kubik, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
Geneviève Zubrzycki, University of Michigan.
APPLIED SCIENCES
Nominations are being sought for the
2022 Tadeusz Sendzimir Applied Sciences Award
The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA) is soliciting nominations for the Tadeusz Sendzimir Applied Sciences Award. The Award was established by PIASA in 1996 in an effort to recognize excellence, individual achievement and innovative contributions in the field of applied sciences. Exceptional Polish-American scientists or engineers who live and work in the United States are eligible for the Award.
The field of applied sciences includes branches of science and technology in which existing scientific knowledge is applied to develop practical applications, inventions or other technological advancements. Examples of disciplines within applied sciences include (broadly understood) agronomy, computer sciences, engineering, environmental science, health science, applied mathematics and many others. For a more comprehensive list, see:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_applied_science#Branches_of_applied_science
Nominators need to provide a nomination letter and a curriculum vitae of the nominee that includes a bibliography of significant publications or a list of accomplishments. Additional letters of support may be provided. Nomination is made by submitting the requested materials to the Chair of the Award Selection Committee, Dr. Wlodek Mandecki, at . The submission deadline is November 15, 2022.
The Tadeusz Sendzimir Applied Sciences Award winner will receive a $1000 prize and will also be recognized during the PIASA annual conference at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, June 9-11, 2023.
Unsuccessful nominees will automatically be reconsidered for the Award for the subsequent four years. Nominators will be given the opportunity to update the nomination for those being reconsidered.
Tadeusz Sendzimir (1894-1989) received worldwide recognition for his outstanding and numerous contributions to metallurgy. By the early 1980s up to 90 percent of the world’s stainless steel passed through the Sendzimir process. Overall, Tadeusz Sendzimir, and the company he founded, has helped to alter the complete technological processes in steel rolling over the last six decades (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadeusz_Sendzimir).
Previous recipients of the Sendzimir Award were:
Dr. Witold Krajewski University of Iowa
Dr. Wladek Minor, University of Virginia and Dr. Zbyszek Otwinowski, University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center
Halina Zyczynski, M.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Dr. Tomasz Imielinski, Rutgers University
Anne Wojcicki, founder and CEO of 23andMe
Dr. Wladyslaw Koleczko, President of the Polish Association of Inventors and Industrial Innovators in Warsaw
Dr. Thaddeus B. Massalski, Carnegie Mellon University
Dr. Stanislaw Gorczyca, Academy of Mining and Metallurgy, Krakow
Dr. Stanislaw Mrozowski, Professor Emeritus, SUNY at Buffalo
NATURAL SCIENCES
Nominations are being sought for the 2022 Casimir Funk Natural Sciences Award
The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA) Casimir Funk Natural Sciences Award identifies and honors an outstanding scientist of Polish origin (Polish born or of Polish ancestry) living and working in the United States or Canada. The nominee should have contributed in a major way to scientific research and be widely recognized.
Nominations:
- Can be made by anyone (PIASA member or not), from anywhere in the world.
- Should include a nomination letter for only one candidate stating the achievements on which the nomination is based and a brief Curriculum Vita of the nominee.
- Will remain under consideration for 4 years.
- Nominations of women scientists for the Funk Award in Natural Sciences are especially encouraged.
- Should be sent by email prior to the November 15, 2022 deadline to the Chair of the Casimir Funk Natural Sciences Award Selection Committee, Dr. Hanna Chroboczek Kelker: .
The previous winners of the Casimir Funk Award are as follows:
1995 Dr. Roald Hoffmann, Nobel Prize Laureate (Chemistry) Cornell University
1996 Dr. Alexander Wolszczan, (Astronomy) Pennsylvania State University
1997 Dr. Hilary Koprowski, (Virology, Immunology) Thomas Jefferson University
1998 Dr. Peter T. Wolczanski, (Chemistry) Cornell University
2001 Dr. Andrew Wojcicki, (Chemistry) Ohio State University
2003 Dr. Waclaw Szybalski, (Molecular Biology) McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research
2005 Dr. Benoit Mandelbrodt, (Mathematics) Yale University
2008 Dr. Frank Wilczek, Nobel Prize Laureate (Physics) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2013 Dr. Maria Siemionow, (Medicine) Cleveland Clinic
2014 Dr. Zbigniew Darzynkiewicz, (Cell Biology) Brander Cancer Research Institute
2016 Dr. Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, (Chemistry) Carnegie Mellon University
2017 Dr. Andrew V. Schally, Nobel Prize Laureate (Endocrinology), University of Miami
2018 Dr. Krzysztof Palczewski (Ophthalmology) University of California-Irvine
2019 Dr. Jack William Szostak, Nobel Prize Laureate (Physiology or Medicine) Harvard Medical School
2020 Dr. Henryk Iwaniec (Mathematics), Rutgers University
2021 Dr. Witold Nazarewicz (Physics), Michigan State University
Casimir Funk (1884-1967), for whom the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences’ Natural Sciences Award is named, made important contributions to the fields of hormone research, enzymology and chemical synthesis. However, he is best known for his pioneering research that lead to the discovery of vitamins and for defining the role of vitamins in nutrition. Funk postulated that nutritional deficiency diseases “can be prevented and cured by the addition of certain preventive substances which we call vitamines. The term “vitamin” (coined by Funk from “vita”, latin for life, and “amine”) has become accepted as the description of a group of functionally related but structurally distinct substances. His hypothesis has had a major impact on the direction of research in a field that, before his discoveries, was filled with controversy. His work has guided the developing science of nutrition and had an impact on biochemistry and medicine.
The recipient of the 2022 Funk Award will receive a $1000 prize and will also be recognized at PIASA’s annual conference at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, June 9-11, 2023.
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