Call for Nominations - PIASA 2021 Awards
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, 2021
The award, named for Rachel Feldhay Brenner (1946-2021), an eminent Polish-Israeli-American literary scholar, is given every two years to the author of the best English-language book on the history and/or culture of Polish Jews.
Criteria:
- The nominated book must be written in the English language
- The book must have been published in 2019 or 2020
- Both books containing original research or new, original syntheses are eligible for consideration; edited collections are ineligible
Nominations, including self-nominations, should include:
- A letter of justification why the particular candidate is deserving of the award
- A curriculum vitae of the nominee that includes a bibliography of significant publications
- Three copies of the published book
- Any additionally relevant materials such as book reviews and letters of support
Nominations are made by submitting the requested materials to Dr. Piotr Wrobel at by November 15, 2021. Other members of the inaugural Brenner Award Committee are Antony Polonsky and Robert Blobaum.
The recipient of the Rachel Feldhay Brenner Award will be recognized during the 8th World Congress of PIASA in Białystok, Poland, June 10-12, 2022.
Call for Nominations
The Anna M. Cienciala Award for Best Edited Multi-Author Scholarly Volume
The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA)
Deadline: November 15, 2021
Description: The 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).
Eligibility: Eligible books must be edited multi-author collections of scholarly articles in the various fields of Polish studies broadly understood. Books must have been published in English in 2019 or 2020. Editors and contributors need not be members of PIASA.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should include:
- A letter of justification why the particular volume is deserving of the award
- A curriculum vitae of the volume editor or editors
- Three copies of the nominated volume to be submitted after consultation with award committee chair: see below
Nominations are made by submitting the requested materials to Professor Neal Pease at by November 15, 2021. Professor Pease will reply to make arrangements for distribution of book copies to committee members.
The recipient of the Anna Cienciala Award will be recognized during the 8th World Congress of PIASA in Białystok, Poland, June 10-12, 2022.
Call for Nominations
The Casimir Funk Natural Sciences Award
The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA)
Deadline: November 15, 2021
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, 2021 deadline to the Chair of the Casimir Funk Natural Sciences Award Selection Committee: Dr. Hanna Chroboczek Kelker,
Background information:
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
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 2021 Funk Award will be recognized at PIASA’s 8th World Congress of Polish Studies in Białystok, Poland, June 10-12, 2022.
Call for Nominations
The Oskar Halecki Polish and East-Central European History Award
The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA)
Deadline: November 15, 2021
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. In past instances, the Halecki Award has also recognized a scholar’s outstanding body of published work. The book or body of work should represent exemplary historical research and writing.
Criteria:
- The book or body of work must be written in the English language.
- The book must have been published during the 2019 or 2020 calendar years. If the nomination is based on a body of work, it must include a significant publication within the last five calendar years.
- Both books containing original research or new, original syntheses are eligible for consideration; edited collections are ineligible.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should include:
- A letter of justification why the particular candidate is deserving of the award
- A curriculum vitae of the nominee that includes a bibliography of significant publications and a list of accomplishments
- Three copies of the nominated book
- Any additionally relevant materials such as book reviews and letters of support
Nominations are made by submitting the requested materials to Professor James Pula at the following address by November 15, 2021: The recipient of the Oskar Halecki Award in Polish and East-Central European history will be recognized during the 8th World Congress of PIASA in Białystok, Poland, June 10-12, 2022.
Call for Nominations
The Wacław Lednicki Award in the Humanities
The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA)
Deadline: November 15, 2021
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.
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 during the 2019 or 2020 calendar years.
- Both books containing original research or new, original syntheses are eligible for consideration; edited collections are ineligible.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should include:
- A letter of justification why the particular candidate is deserving of the award
- A curriculum vitae of the nominee that includes a bibliography of significant publications and/or list of the nominee’s artistic accomplishments
- Three copies of the nominated book or creative work
- Any additionally relevant materials such as book reviews and letters of support.
Nominations are made by submitting the requested materials to Dr. Marek Haltof at by November 15, 2021. The recipient of the Wacław Lednicki Award in the Humanities will be recognized during the 8th World Congress of PIASA in Białystok, Poland, June 10-12, 2022.
Call for Nominations
The Susanne Lotarski Distinguished Achievement Award
The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA)
Deadline: November 15, 2021
The award, named for Dr. Susanne Lotarski (1942-2017), a long-time employee of the U.S. Department of Commerce who retired as Deputy Assistant Secretary. She was president of the Polish American Congress, and benefactor and long-standing member of the PIASA Board of Directors, which she also served as treasurer. The Lotarski Distinguished Achievement Award honors those who have made outstanding contributions to Polish studies and culture.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should include:
- A letter of justification why the particular candidate is deserving of the award
- A curriculum vitae of the nominee
- Any additional relevant materials, such as letters of support
Nominations are made by submitting the requested materials to Professor Robert Blobaum, President of PIASA, at by November 15, 2021. The recipient is selected by the PIASA Board of Directors.
The recipient of the Susanne Lotarski Achievement Award will be recognized during the 8th World Congress of PIASA in Białystok, Poland, June 10-12, 2022.
Call for Nominations
The Tadeusz Sendzimir Applied Sciences Award
The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA)
Deadline: November 15, 2021
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, 2021.
The Tadeusz Sendzimir Applied Sciences Award winner will be recognized during the PIASA conference in Białystok, Poland, June 10-12, 2022. 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. 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
Call for Nominations
The Bronisław Malinowski Award in the Social Sciences
The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA)
Deadline: November 15, 2021
Named for an 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.
Criteria:
- The book, publication, or body of work must be written in the English language.
- The book or publication must have appeared during the 2019 or 2020 calendar years. 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 are ineligible.
Nominations, including self-nominations, should include:
- A letter of justification why the particular candidate is deserving of the award
- A curriculum vitae of the nominee that includes a bibliography of significant publications and a list of accomplishments
- Three copies of the nominated publication
- Any additionally relevant materials such as book reviews, citation indices, and letters of support
Nominations are made by submitting the requested materials to Dr. Bozena Leven at bleven@tcnj,edu by November 15, 2021.
The recipient of the Bronisław Malinowski Award in the Social Sciences will be recognized during the 8th World Congress of PIASA in Białystok, Poland, June 10-12, 2021.
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