Committee on Honors

The Committee on Honors (COH) sets standards and guidelines to be followed by the individual selection committees in selecting candidates for honors and awards. These include issues such as handling conflicts of interest, diversity, inclusion, breadth of search, etc. The COH reviews the recruitment and selection procedures of each selection committee to ensure that the guidelines have been followed. It also selects the candidates for APS-wide Fellows, reviews alternate Fellows allocations, reviews proposals for new prizes and awards, works with the selection committees to adjudicate questions about process, and considers appeals of rejection of candidates for honors.

The membership of the COH includes the Vice President, and six (6) Councilors, nominated by the Committee on Council Committees (CCC) and appointed by the President-Elect to staggered three (3) year terms. These terms may include one year of service beyond their term as Councilor. The COH includes three (3) members representing a Forum. The Forum representatives are recommended by the respective Chair of each Forum, in consultation with the executive committee of the Forum, and they are appointed by the President-Elect as voting members to staggered three (3) year terms. Each year, the Chief Experience and Engagement Officer will advise which Forum should appoint a member based on strategic representation needs. The Vice President chairs the committee.

The COH is a Council Committee.

  • John Marston, Chair
    (Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024)
    Brown University
  • Beverly Hartline
    (Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2024)
    Montana Technological University
  • Kenneth Brown
    (Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2025)
    Duke University
  • Kandice Tanner
    (Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2025)
    National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • Laurie McNeil
    (Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024)
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Robert Bernstein
    (Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2026)
    Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab)
  • David Hall
    (Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2024)
    Amherst College
  • William Ratcliff
    (Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2025)
    National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
  • Gabriela Gonzalez
    (Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2024)
    Louisiana State University
  • Candice Graham, Staff Liaison
    (Jan 1, 2024)
    American Physical Society (APS)

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