Statute on the Global Energy International Prize

1. MAIN PROVISIONS

1.1. The GLOBAL ENERGY International Prize (hereinafter the Prize) is an independent scientific award. It shall acknowledge outstanding scientific study and engineering research in the field of energy that helps justify innovative methods of efficient energy generation, create new and efficient sources of energy, or significantly improve the performance of known energy sources, while positively maintaining their security and meeting all the environmental standards.

1.2. The Prize is intended to facilitate:

the development of theoretical, experimental, and applied studies and designs in the field of energy, and the process of international cooperation in this field of knowledge;
the stimulation and attraction of leading specialists from various countries, international scientific organizations, and government and commercial structures toward the solution of the most significant present-day problems in the field of energy;
the social recognition of the roles of individual academics and scientific teams.

1.3. The founder of the Prize is the Nonprofitable Organization Global Energy Foundation (hereinafter the Foundation), which, through attracting for-profit and non-profit organizations and companies, finances the Prize and provides it with legal, organizational, and informational support. The Statute on the Prize has been approved by the Global Energy Board of Trustees.

1.4. The Prize was instituted in 2002, to be awarded annually starting in 2003, for outstanding theoretical, experimental, and applied research, development, inventions, and discoveries in the field of energy.

1.5. The Prize (purses) shall be given annually to individuals or teams in any country who over the previous years have achieved critically important scientific or engineering results with the potential to blaze essentially new trails in energy development.

1.6. The Prize is by nature an international scientific award inasmuch as:

any person from any country is eligible to become a Laureate;
both Russian and non-Russian nationals may nominate works for the Prize on an equal footing;
the authorized bodies who make the Prize awarding decision are comprised of academics and scientists of different countries and representatives of international scientific organizations.

1.7. The Prize fund shall be equivalent to no less than 20 million rubles. Each year, the exact amount of the Prize shall be confirmed by a Decision of the Global Energy Board of Trustees no later than 1 January.

2. ADMINISTRATIVE BODIES OF THE PRIZE

2.1. The administrative bodies of the Prize shall be:

The Board of Trustees of the Prize;
The International Prize Award Committee;
The Executive Directorate of the Prize.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

2.2. The Board of Trustees of the Prize is an independent body that administers the Prize.

2.2.1. The Board of Trustees of the Prize shall be set up by the Management of the Foundation for a five-year term of office.

2.2.2. The number of persons in the Board of Trustees of the Prize is determined by the Management of the Foundation; however, the numerical membership of the Board of Trustees of the Prize in any case may not be less than five (5) persons.

2.2.3. The Board of Trustees of the Prize shall be headed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Prize, to be elected by the Management of the Foundation for a five-year term of office.

2.3. The Board of Trustees of the Prize shall be responsible for the general management of the Prize and for providing the financial basis for the awarding of the Prize, and have the basic authority:

to supervise the activities of the administrative bodies of the Prize;
to establish the annual size of the Prize;
to determine the annual budget for the organizational, technological, expert, information, and other support of the processes of nomination for, and award and presentation of, the Prize;
to approve the Statute of the Prize and the Rules of the Administrative Bodies of the Prize (and the alteration of these documents), and the overall structure of the administrative bodies of the Prize;
to establish and approve the numerical and personal membership of the International Prize Award Committee;
to approve the candidatures of the Chairman and Academic Secretary of the International Prize Award Committee and of the Chairman of the Commission of Experts on the Prize.

2.4. Members of the Board of Trustees of the Prize may not nominate candidates for competition for the Prize and do not participate in the review process for nominated works or the final decision for the awarding of the Prize.

2.5. The Board of Trustees of the Prize shall hold its meetings as necessary, but no less than once a year.

2.5.1. Decisions made at meetings of the Board of Trustees of the Prize shall be binding when no less than half of its members are present at the meeting.

2.5.2. Decisions of the Board of Trustees of the Prize on all issues shall be voted by simple majority of the members of the Board of Trustees of the Prize in attendance at the meeting.

2.6. Proposals from the Board of Trustees of the Prize on amendment and upgrading of the operation of administrative bodies of the Prize shall be subject to mandatory execution by the administrative bodies of the Prize.

2.7. The Board of Trustees of the Prize shall work on a pro bono basis. Members of the Board of Trustees shall receive no compensation.

INTERNATIONAL PRIZE AWARD COMMITTEE

2.8. With a view to administering a scientific competition and the annual award of the Prize, the Board of Trustees shall name an International Prize Award Committee with a five-year (5-year) term of office. It is to be composed of leaders of the most influential scientific organizations, eminent scientists enjoying international recognition in the field of energy, and statesmen and public figures of Russia and foreign countries. The numerical and personal membership of the International Prize Award Committee must be established and approved prior to the starting date of acceptance of works, and be made public. The on-going administration of the International Prize Award Committee shall be the duty of the Chairman and the Academic Secretary of the International Prize Award Committee, to be named by the Board of Trustees of the Prize for a five-year (5-year) term of office. The Board of Trustees of the Prize shall have the right to enforce an annual rotation of the members of the International Prize Award Committee of not more than 15% of the listed membership of the Committee.

2.9. The principal powers of the International Prize Award Committee shall be: to administer the nomination for the Prize and selection of Prize Laureates; to approve the form of the application submitted by individuals entitled to be nominators; to compile a list of scientists specifically invited to make nominations for the current year’s Prize; to establish and approve the membership of the Commission of Experts; to set time limits for the submission of works, selection of nominees, taking a decision, announcement of the laureate, and presentation of the Prize; to approve the procedure of works selection by the Commission of Experts, including the possibility of selecting from among all the nominees; to take the final decision to award the Prize.

2.10. The order of interaction of the International Prize Award Committee with other administrative bodies of the Prize, the rights and duties of the members of the Prize Award Committee, the procedure of decision making at International Prize Award Committee meetings, and other questions are defined in the Rules of Procedure of the International Prize Award Committee, subject to approval by the Board of Trustees of the Prize.

2.11. Members of the International Prize Award Committee members shall receive compensation, to be established by the Executive Directorate of the Prize as per the Foundation maintenance means approved by the Board of Trustees of the Foundation.

COMMISSION OF EXPERTS

2.12. With a view to making a preliminary review of the works put forward for the Prize, the International Prize Award Committee shall set up a Commission of Experts. The Commission of Experts of the Prize is a body of the International Prize Award Committee.

2.12.1. The International Prize Award Committee shall establish the numerical and personal membership of the Commission of Experts for a five-year (5-year) term of office.

2.12.2. The membership of the Commission of Experts must be approved prior to the starting date of acceptance of works.

2.12.3. The Board of Trustees shall commission the Chairman of the Commission of Experts, picked from the membership of the International Prize Award Committee, for a five-year (5-year) term of office.

2.12.4. The winners of the All-Russian Youth Competition of Research Projects in the field of energy «Energy of Youth,» who represent the Youth Expert Council (YEC) for the Commission of Experts of the Prize, shall participate in the work of the Commission of Experts of the Prize on equal terms. The meeting of the YEC shall be conducted on a specialized online internet resource system the day before the meeting of the Commission of Experts of the Prize. At the meeting of the YEC, confidential study of, discussion of and voting for the nominated works takes place. The results of the work and voting of the YEC shall be presented at the meeting of the Commission of Experts of the Prize.

2.13. The Commission of Experts of the Prize shall be entitled: to recommend to the International Prize Award Committee scientists to be specifically invited in the current year to make nominations for the Prize; to devise and agree with the International Prize Award Committee the application form to be used by Prize nominators and the procedure and criteria of screening of the works presented for the competition; to review competitors’ works; to draw authoritative academics and leading specialists for the expertise on the works in consideration from the corresponding scientific field; to short-list the most likely contenders for the Prize (not more than five works) and submit the list to the International Prize Award Committee together with relevant documents justifying the selection (reasonable conclusions and presentations with comparative analysis).

2.14. Members of the Commission of Experts of the Prize of the International Prize Award Committee receive remuneration determined by the Executive Directorate according to the sums for the functioning of the Foundation confirmed by the Board of Trustees of the Prize. The work of the YEC is done on a pro bono basis.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORATE

2.15. With a view to providing organizational and financial support for the activities involved in the preparation and conduct of the presentation of the Prize, and its legal and information support, an Executive Directorate of the Prize is set up.

2.15.1. The Executive Directorate of the Foundation forms part of the Executive Directorate of the Prize.

2.15.2. The Executive Director of the Foundation shall be Executive Director of the Prize.

2.16. The Executive Directorate of the Prize shall be vested with the following powers: to carry out organizational and technical activities involved in the conduct of a Prize competition; to provide organizational, financial, and logistic support to the operation of the Board of Trustees of the Prize, the International Prize Award Committee, and the Management of the Prize; to publicize this Statute, the time frame for the acceptance of nominees’ works, selection of nominees, the decision making process, announcing the laureate, and presentation of the award, and information about the time, place, and procedure of the award, as well as any other Prize-related information; to receive documents presented by the nominators and to check them for conformance to preset rules; to prepare materials selected and submit them to the Commission of Experts; to organize meetings of the Commission of Experts and the International Prize Award Committee; to publish Prize award decision; to maintain procedures associated with the holding of the competition and presentation of the Prize; to establish the procedure of the Prize Awarding Ceremony; to supervise the formal function of the presentation of diplomas, commemoratives, and the Prize itself to the laureates; to provide information support for the Prize Awarding Ceremony; to meet the costs of all the above-mentioned activities and other Prize competition programs, and the operation of its administrative bodies; to address other organizational, financial, and technical matters associated with the administration of the Prize.

2.17. The Prize administration bodies, as they perform their functions, must not disclose any information pertaining to the selection of nominees until the Prize Laureate is announced according to the procedure set forth in this Statute.

2.18. The specific rights and duties of the administrative bodies of the Prize and their officials, as well as their work procedure, are defined by the Regulations of the Foundation and by Rules of Procedure to be approved by duly authorized bodies.

3. AWARD OF THE PRIZE

3.1. The main criterion that determines the selection of candidates for the award of the Prize is the exclusively scientific and practical value of the work nominated for the competition. In their Laureate selection activities, the Commission of Experts and the International Prize Award Committee base their decision on the following criteria:

3.1.1. The development of new concepts for the transformation of the boundaries of the field of energy.

3.1.2. Ways to solve the largest problems in the field of energy that are facing humanity.

3.1.3. The collection of new knowledge in the field of energy:

3.1.3.1. Theoretical;

3.1.3.2. Experimental;

3.1.3.3. Practical.

3.1.4. Increasing public recognition of the following issues:

3.1.4.1. The important role of the energy community;

3.1.4.2. The role of individual academics and research teams.

3.1.5. Research, discoveries, and inventions connected with new:

3.1.5.1. sources of energy;

3.1.5.2. types of industrial development;

3.1.5.3. methods for the effective use and conversion of energy.

3.1.6. Programs and projects that have substantially increased the number of young academics participating in the solution of major energy issues.

3.1.7. The solution of extremely important questions connected with the effect of energy development on the environment (such as earth, water, and air) on a global scale and in individual regions.

3.2. The Prize shall be awarded for scientific achievements in the field of energy that have benefited humanity at large in the following broad areas: basic research, discoveries and inventions opening up new vistas in energy industry development; theoretical studies, discoveries, and inventions originating new energy sources and applications; applied research, designs, and engineering improvements leading to a significant rise in the efficiency of energy utilization; studies, discoveries, and inventions that have led to the use of new methods of energy conversion and that represent a major contribution to the solution of ecological and environmental protection problems; studies, discoveries, and inventions that have resulted in breakthroughs in energy saving and transfer.

3.3. The Prize shall be awarded to nominees irrespective of their nationality, citizenship, race, sex, property status, and educational background.

3.4. Published works alone shall be accepted for consideration. ]

3.5. The Prize may be split between two works by different authors, each being considered worthy of the Prize.

3.6. The Prize may not be awarded twice to the same person. The Prize may not be awarded to individuals serving on administrative and prize-awarding bodies of the Foundation and the Prize. The award of the Prize may not be considered posthumously.

3.7. The Prize will not be awarded to a group of more than three authors. The determination of the candidates from out of the total number of contributors to a piece is conducted on the basis of an evaluation of the contribution of each by the individuals who have the right to nominate works for the Prize. The person with the right to nomination is required to precisely and briefly indicate the specific contribution of each member of the team nominated for the Prize on the nomination form. A nomination for the Prize must be accompanies by a limited number (no more than five) of accompanying documents. They should include justification of the value of the work of the nominee(s) and a presentation of fundamental principles for the evaluation by the Committee of Experts of the Prize. Persons who fulfilled only administrative or organizational roles may not be considered as candidates for the Prize.

3.8. If the Prize is awarded to a scientific team (of no more than three persons), the question of the division of the purse amongst the team’s members depending on the contribution of each member shall be put to a vote.

3.9. The International Prize Award Committee (independent of the recommendation of the Committee of the Commission of Experts) shall have the right to combine the works of several nominees into one entry for inclusion on the voting short list.

3.10. There can be no more than three Prize Laureates in a given year.

4. NOMINATION

4.1. The following shall be entitled to nominate people for the Prize competition: Nobel Prize Laureates for physics and chemistry; Winners of the Kyoto, Max Planck, Wolf, and Balzan Prizes; Members of the Department for Earth Sciences, the Department for Physical Sciences, the Department for Chemistry and Material Sciences, the Department of Energetic, Machinery, and Mechanics, as well as foreign members of the abovementioned departments; Laureates of the Global Energy International Prize; Academics specifically invited for this purpose by the International Award Committee.

4.2. Nomination for the Prize shall be done in strict confidence. Accordingly, preliminary public discussions and collective nominations are not contemplated. Details of works submitted for review and their authors shall not be made public and made known to the nominee either by the nominators or the administrative bodies of the Prize.

4.3. Self-nomination shall not be practiced.

4.4. Works shall be nominated for the Prize in due form as established by the Executive Directorate of the Prize in consultation with the International Prize Award Committee and according to the procedure and time frame laid down by this Statute.

4.5. The main requirements for the nomination form are the following:

4.5.1. All sections of the nomination form shall be filled out, including the citations index;

4.5.2. The topic related to the (specific) candidate’s (or team of candidates’) nomination shall be succinctly and unambiguously indicated on the nomination form.

4.5.3. If a team is nominated, the specific contributions of each member of the team shall be indicated.

4.6. Works that satisfy the abovementioned requirements and have been submitted to the Executive Directorate over the last three (3) Prize cycles (years) including the current one are allowed in the contest.

5. COMPETITION PROCEDURE

5.1. Every year, in the period from 1 October to 1 March of the next year (the Prize award year), the Executive Directorate of the Prize shall receive from individuals entitled to name candidates for the competition works nominated for the Prize, except as otherwise provided by the International Prize Award Committee.

5.2. The nomination form for the competition and the requirements for the works submitted (which are confirmed by the International Prize Award Committee in accordance with this Statute) must be brought to the attention of the persons who have the right to nominate candidates by the Executive Directorate of the Prize no earlier than 30 days before the nomination deadline.

5.3. Works that disregard the required form and term of submission shall not be considered.

5.4. Works accepted for review shall be filed by the Executive Directorate, but information about the works’ authors and the subjects of works shall not be disclosed.

5.5. Between 1 March and 1 April of the year of the Prize Awarding, the Commission of Experts of the Prize evaluates the candidates’ qualifications and the quality of the scientific work submitted for competition for the Prize. Leading scientists from the appropriate field of science are asked to assist with the evaluation of the submitted works. The results of the work of the Commission of Experts of the Prize are submitted as a report to the International Prize Award Committee in which no more than five (5) of the most deserving works from the works submitted to the scientific contest are presented. Every nominee presented to the International Prize Award Committee for the final decision is subjected to a vote of the members of the Commission of Experts of the Prize. The nominee is included in the preliminary list if no less than two thirds (2/3) of the members of the Commission of Experts of the Prize vote in favor of him/her. The results of the work of the Commission of Experts of the Prize are formatted in the form of a reasoned proposal for the corresponding candidates, which is submitted for the final decision to the International Prize Award Committee no later than two (2) weeks before the Committee’s meeting.

5.6. In the period from 15 to 30 April of the Prize award year, the International Prize Award Committee shall meet to take the final award decision, which is to be drawn up as a protocol. An International Prize Award Committee meeting shall be considered qualified if attended by no less than two-thirds (2/3) of the Committee membership. The Prize laureate shall be elected by the International Prize Award Committee members’ secret ballot, the required majority being two-thirds (2/3) of the Committee members who took part in the voting. No protests against an award shall be filed or made public.

5.7. Within forty-five (45) days of the making of their final decision, the International Prize Award Committee shall announce the Prize Laureate.

5.8. The Executive Directorate of the Prize, in consultation with the Board of Trustees, the International Prize Award Committee, and other individuals and entities concerned, shall determine the date of the Prize Award Ceremony of the current year.

5.9. The Prize Awarding Ceremony shall take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, in the presence of high-ranking statesmen of the Russian Federation, eminent scientists, leaders of national and international scientific and social organizations, and members of the Board of Trustees of the Prize, the International Prize Award Committee, the Commission of Experts of the Prize, and the Executive Directorate of the Prize.

5.10. The Global Energy International Prize consists of:

5.10.1. a commemorative gold medal;

5.10.2. a diploma with the signature of the Chairman of the Global Energy International Award Committee;

5.10.3. a Laureate’s gold breast pin;

5.10.4. a sum of money in accordance with the decision of the Global Energy International Award Committee within the frameworks of the general size of the purse for the current year confirmed by the Global Energy Board of Trustees. Persons awarded the Prize are given the commemorative medal, diploma, and Laureate’s gold breast pin at a ceremony.

5.11. The presence of the awardees at the Prize Awarding Ceremony is required. The President of the Russian Federation or his nominated alternative shall present the Prize.

5.12. The Prize Laureate is required to abide by the Statute on the Laureates of the Global Energy International Prize, in accordance with which she/he shall, upon accepting the name of Prize Laureate and the material awards:

5.12.1. over the course of the year after the award, deliver no fewer than five (5) lectures at international scientific and social events on the subject of his/her Prize-winning work;

5.12.2. submit his/her creative autobiography, Laureate’s lecture, photographs of his/her choice illustrating the autobiography, and bibliography to the Executive Directorate to expedite the publication of the Prize’s White Book for the corresponding year.

5.13. The Prize money must be paid to the Laureate no later than forty-five (45) days from the date of the Prize Awarding Ceremony.