California Firm to Support Newcomb Cleveland Prize

A California company founded by a scientist who was awarded AAAS's venerable Newcomb Cleveland Prize in 1992 has decided to make it possible for other researchers to enjoy the same experience.

Affymetrix, Inc., of Santa Clara, CA, recently announced that for the next 3 years it will help underwrite the prize that recognizes the author or authors of an outstanding paper published in Science. The company, which develops state-of-the-art technology for acquiring, analyzing, and managing genetic information, was founded by CEO Stephen P. A. Fodor, lead author of a paper on microarray technology that won the prize for articles published between 1990 and 1991. With the support of his company, the prize's monetary award will more than double to a total $25,000 a year, making it one of the largest multidisciplinary awards in science. The prize will be awarded next at the AAAS Annual Meeting in February 2004.

Nominations for the annual Newcomb Cleveland Prize, the Association's oldest award, must be submitted by 30 June and entries should have been published in Science between the first issue of June 2002 and the last issue of May 2003. The work must have appeared originally as a research article or a report.

According to the criteria published on the Web site for the prize (www.aaas.org/about/awards/Newcomb.shtml), anyone but the author may submit a paper for consideration.

The site describes a valid entry as one that includes "original research data, theory, or synthesis; is a fundamental contribution to basic knowledge or a technical achievement of far-reaching consequence; and is a first-time publication of the author's own work." Nominations should be e-mailed to skihara@aaas.org.

(Article originally published in "AAAS News and Notes," Science, 30 May 2003.)

—Coimbra Sirica

29 May 2003