The Don and Betty Kirkham Soil Physics Award is designed to recognize a mid-career soil scientist who has made outstanding contributions in the areas of soil physics. This award is supported by the Lena and Maria van der Ploeg Fund and the Don and Betty Kirkham Fund. Both of these funds have been established in the Agronomic Science Foundation (ASF) with the selection process administered by the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA).The award consists of a certificate and a $1000 honorarium.
Eligibility
1.		Nominators are expected to be SSSA members.
2.		Nominees are not required to be SSSA members.
3.		The award is intended for persons in midcareer. After achieving a formal education, a person completing at least three years of professional activity in her or his focused field of study and not yet ceasing full-time professional employment is considered midcareer.

Evaluation
1.		Significance and originality of basic and applied research in soil physics.
2.		Quality and impact of teaching soil physics at undergraduate and graduate levels.
3.		Total impact of contributions on soil science and other fields, nationally and internationally, as well as on the world community at large.

Preparing to Apply
The following information will be necessary to complete theonline nomination. You are encouraged to assemble this information electronically before beginning the online process in order to copy-and-paste selections into the corresponding fields online.
Nominator Contact Information
1.	Full name, mailing address, phone, e-mail address, current position title, membership number.
Nominee Contact Information
1.	Full name, mailing address, phone, e-mail address, and current position title.
2.	Degrees received.
3.	Professional positions held.
4.	Date of birth.
Nominee Qualification Information
1.	Research. List research contributions. (a) Provide listing and evaluation of basic and/or applied research activities with emphasis on significance, impact, originality, creative reasoning and (b) Other related research activities (Character Limit: 3000).
2.	Membership. List membership in professional, honorary, and academic societies (Character Limit: 1500).
3.	Honors and Awards. List honors and awards received (Character Limit: 3000).
4.	Contributions to the Profession. List contributions other than service to the profession (Character Limit: 3000).
5.	Teaching Contributions. Describe teaching contributions: (a) courses taught, (b) Advising of graduate and undergraduate students, and (c) Evaluation of teaching effectiveness as documented by the number of courses taught, number of students taught and advised, and summary of student and peer evaluation (Character Limit: 3000).
6.	Service to the Society. List service to the Society. Include national, regional, and state activities, i.e., appointed positions, elected position, other service (Character Limit: 3000).
7.	Professional Contributions. Describe the nominee’s technical or nontechnical publications, patents, and efforts to develop or improve programs, practices, and products. List the 12 most significant professional contributions of the nominee (Character Limit: 4500).
8.	Evaluation. Identify in this section the primary contributions on which the nomination is based (Character Limit: 3000).
Nominee References
Names and e-mail addresses of three individuals who will separately submit online letters of reference. Each letter of reference can be up to 6000 characters (1–2 pages).
Online Submission
Download the SSSA Nomination & Application Information [PDF] and see page 3 for instructions and how to navigate the online nomination process.
Deadline
The deadline for completing the online nomination, including the online receipt of all reference letters, is Friday, March 5, 2004.