Current Recipient
Past Recipients

Schedule
Background & Guidelines
The Award
Who is Eligible
Nominations & Due Dates
Nomination Instructions
Award Process
Award Presentation
McCoy Distinguished Lecture
McCoy Distinguished Recognition Dinner

Schedule
Annual announcement is distributed to academic deans in early November.
Nominations are due in the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), by the third Friday of January.
A Selection Committee (SC) comprised of past McCoy Award recipients meets in late February to determine the winner.

Background & Guidelines
The Herbert Newby McCoy Award was established in 1964 by Mrs. Ethel Terry McCoy in honor of her husband, a distinguished Purdue alumnus. A native of Indiana, Herbert Newby McCoy studied chemistry at Purdue University where he received a B.S. degree in 1892 and a M.S. degree in 1893. His Ph.D. was earned at the University of Chicago in 1898. McCoy spent the early part of his career as a professor of chemistry, teaching at North Dakota State University, the University of Utah, and the University of Chicago. During the latter part of his career, he was president of Carnotite Reduction Company in Chicago and vice president of Lindsay Light and Chemical Company, also in Chicago. He died in 1945 in Los Angeles, California.

To support her husband's life-long interest in science, Mrs. McCoy designated that this annual award be made to a student or faculty member in the science departments of Purdue University making the greatest contribution of the year to science. Since the first award was conferred in the spring of 1965, it has remained the most prestigious research award given by the University in the science area. Nominations are invited from all faculty members, and the recipient is selected by representatives of the science faculties and the president of the University.

The Award
The Herbert Newby McCoy Award consists of a monetary prize of $4,000 plus an additional contribution $7,000 to support the research of the recipient.

Who is Eligible
Any student or faculty member who has made a recent significant contribution in the natural sciences is eligible for nomination for the award, regardless of school or departmental affiliation.

Nominations & Due Dates
Nominations are solicited in early November via academic deans to all members of the University faculty. Seven copies of each nomination should be forwarded to the McCoy Award Committee, Vice President for Research Office, HOVD, Room 300 no later than the third Friday in January. Nominations may be made by any member of the University.

Nomination Instructions
A general announcement regarding the competition will be distributed to faculty via their academic dean. In addition to any supplementary internal criteria, all nominations must include:

-- A concise summarizing statement, not more than two pages in length, which describes the significance of the nominee's work during the past five years leading to nomination for the McCoy Award.
-- A biographical sketch of the nominee.
-- A complete list of all publications from the last five-years.
-- Reprints or manuscripts which substantiate the significance of the contribution.
-- Any additional supporting information which the nominator considers to be significant. Please include not more than five (5) letters of recommendation.

Award Process
A selection committee, appointed by the president of the University and consisting of previous McCoy Award winners, determines the recipient of the annual McCoy Award. To assist the selection committee in understanding the significance of the nominee's work, nominators may be invited to make brief presentations on the day the selection committee meets.

Award Presentation
The recipient of the Herbert Newby McCoy Award is notified via the Vice President for Research and the award is bestowed at the annual Spring University Honors Convocation. In addition, the recipient addresses the Purdue community at the McCoy Distinguished Lecture. To complete the recognition, the recipient joins past McCoy award winners for the annual McCoy Distinguished Recognition Dinner.

McCoy Distinguished Lecture
The McCoy Distinguished Lecture provides the Purdue community the opportunity to hear the McCoy Award winner describe his/her honored research. The Lecture was instituted in 1989 is now an annual fall event at the University. It is held in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center and is followed by a reception in honor of the McCoy Award recipient. All past McCoy award winners receive a formal invitation to attend the distiguished lecture. Those who are able to be present receive special recognition by the Vice President for Research prior to the start of the lecture.

McCoy Distinguished Recognition Dinner
Beginning in 1996, the McCoy Distinguished Recognition Dinner was established to complement and complete the McCoy Award competition. The dinner, held the evening of the McCoy Distinguished Lecture, is always well attended and has attracted past recipients from as far California and Arizona. The Dinner honors all past McCoy award winners and allows University administrators the opportunity to recognize those researchers who have distinguished themselves as Purdue's most prestigious research award recipients.