During the 2017 Annual Meeting, the Board of Directors approved changes to the process by which TMS Members are nominated for, and considered for Fellow distinction based on recommendations from the Awards Committee and discussions at the meetings. The changes included updates to reflect changes in technology and process as well as two substantive changes. Click here for additional information on these changes.
Previously the number of living Fellows of TMS was limited to 10% of the voting membership of the Society. As the number of voting members has declined over the past decade from a high of over 600 members in 2008, to approximately 440 members in 2017, a concern was raised with reaching the cap on living Fellows if membership continued to decline. Currently there are 37 living Fellows. As a result of these concerns, the Board approved the removal of the cap on the number of living Fellows. The removal of the cap in no way diminishes the prestige of the award. The title of Fellow will continue to only be award to a very limited number of deserving TMS members. In fact nomination in no way guarantees awarding of the title, and as with other professional societies, lack of success on a first submission should not discourage subsequent nominations of an individual.
The second substantive change was made to the nomination procedures also in response to concerns raised by the Board. The new Fellows procedures allow for, but do not require, the nominee to be aware of and assist in the completion of the nomination package. This change is in response to the difficulty in completing the nomination package, particularly for candidates that do not work for a larger company or do not have administrative staff that can assist in compilation of the necessary information. In addition, the nomination form has also been streamlined to further simplify the work for the nominator. A copy of the revised Fellow procedures and nomination form can be found here.
The deadline for submission of Fellows Nomination Packages is February 1st of each year.
