Nominator & Reference Instructions

Reference selection is an important step in the Fellow Nomination process. The references must be familiar with the nominee's background and various aspects of his/her notable achievements and personal contributions to engineering, science or technology, leadership, or engineering education. The Nomination form allows for four references plus one supervisor or management supporter. The Nomination package must be accompanied by at least three SAE member reference letters, any grade of SAE membership, that verifies the accomplishments stated in the nomination. Additionally, at least three of the four references must be SAE members. The fourth reference plus the supervisor or management supporter can be non-members. A nominator is not permitted to be a reference; however the nominator can be the nominee's supervisor. Although this situation is acceptable, it is recommended that in place of a letter from the bone fide supervisor/nominator, another management or supervisor level person from the nominee's company or organization should be asked to submit a letter of support. This is being recommended so that this nomination would have the same opportunity as any other nomination to receive higher points. Nominations that do not have the minimum of three member references will not be processed through the Fellow Committee.

The references should be willing as well able to submit by the July 1 deadline a support letter that confirms the Citation and information provided in the Nomination Form. It is suggested that the nominator select member references from a variety of organizations rather than all from the nominee's organization.

Keep in mind the Fellow Committee judges review the support letters thoroughly to determine whether the reference comments verify and/or supplement the Nomination form. The reference comments are an integral part of the review and scoring process and as such the nominator should select references that know the nominee and can provide comments that attest to what is stated in the nomination form. Comments in the support letters should include statements that confirm they know the nominee and for how long, how they know the nominee, and attest to the correctness of the information stated in the nomination. The references may also supply any other information that may not have been mentioned in the nomination form that is pertinent to the Citation and further defines the nominee's credentials. If substance is lacking in the support letters this could impact the nominee's acceptance for Fellow.

Nominator Instructions

• Upon completion of the Fellow Nomination Form, the Nominator is to contact each reference including the Nominee's supervisor or another responsible management company representative to request a support letter on behalf of their nominee. If the nominee is retired as well as his/her former supervisor, a support letter from a management representative or an executive in charge from the nominee's former company is recommended. If the nominee is an innovator who owns his/her own company, choose the four references (three must be SAE members) who can best verify the nominee's accomplishments. The Nominator is permitted and is encouraged to supply a copy of the nominee's completed Nomination Form and this Nominator & Reference Instructions to each reference.

• The deadline for the entire Nomination packet to be received at SAE Int'l, including the support letters is July 1. No extension will be granted.

• It is suggested that references submit their support letters to the Nominators or a Nominator designee in order for the Nominator to submit all support letters along with a copy of the completed Nomination form as one package. Nominators are to submit the completed nomination by e-mail as well as the references. If there is a situation where a reference will be e-mailing their support letter direct, it is still the Nominator's responsibility to make sure all of the support letters are submitted to SAE Int'l by the deadline. Nominations that do not have the minimum of three member support letters (it is strongly recommended that four letters, three of which should be SAE members and the fourth can be a non member, are submitted plus a supervisor letter) submitted by July 1, will not be processed.

Support Letters Content
(Each support letter should be approximately three type written paragraphs but no more than one 8 � type written page. Example support letters can be found on the web)

The following information should be included in each Reference Support Letter:

• How long and by what professional relationship(s) have they known the nominee.

• The body of letter should include specific comments or statements about the nominee's technical and/or outstanding leadership accomplishments. Comments should be specific as to the nature or type and their significance.
  The purpose of being a reference is to confirm or deny what is stated in the nomination. As a reference, include statements verifying the information supplied in the Nomination form. A further explanation of how the nominee's accomplishment(s) impacted society or the mobility industry is to be made. Statements about how widely the nominee or the nominee's work is recognized by the industry are also to be included. In the situation where the nominee has held a management/leadership position(s), statements about business results are to be made. Be sure to mention in the support letters when a nominee has inventions such as products, processes, designs, etc. that were not patented but information is recognized by their company as a Trade Secret or any other type of identified non-disclosure contract. It is understandable that this information is proprietary and little may be allowed to be stated; however state, as best as can be done, the nature of the invention, etc. without divulging any secret or, at minimum, a statement that attests to the fact that the individual contributed in this way.

• The support letter can be concluded with a statement indicating whether the reference recommends the nominee for Fellow.

• It is recommended that each of the four support letters discuss or verify varying accomplishments of the Nominee. The Nominator may want to assign the various discussion points to their references but not limit them to these points.

The four support letters should not be identical letters duplicated four times and signed by four different members. Additionally, support letters should not contain generalities and unsubstantiated praise.

The Fellow Committee judges reserve the right to contact the references to verify and/or clarify points made in the support letters.

The nomination package should be e-mailed to Mrs. Jacque Wearing jwearing@sae.org or fellows@sae.org or mail or fax package to the attention of Jacque, SAE Int'l, 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096. Fax: 724/776-3393. The nomination form and instructions are available on SAE's web site: web site or by requesting the form via e-mail from Jacque.