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Recognizing a member as a BPS Awardee or Fellow is one important way that the Biophysical Society honors excellence, reflects its values, and affirms its community. BPS Awards and Fellow designations are ordinarily lifetime honors that communicate the Society’s determination of the individual’s exemplary role in the field and fitness. Because of this ongoing affiliation, all Awardees and Fellows are expected to comply with the standards of BPS’s Ethics Guidelines and Code of Conduct as a condition of holding the distinction, regardless of when the honor was bestowed on the recipient. 

In bestowing Awards and Fellow designations, BPS will consider whether the past and current conduct of the nominee is consistent with BPS’s current professional conduct standards. In certain circumstances, BPS may also revoke an Award or Fellow designation for past misconduct. To support these values and standards, BPS has established the following procedures to guide decisions related to the suitability of bestowing an Award or Fellow, or when considering revocation of the same. 

Procedures and Policies

  1. BPS welcomes and encourages nominations for Awards and Fellow honors. 

  2. During the nomination process, nominators will be asked to check a box to indicate whether, to their current knowledge, the individual they are nominating has behaved consistently with the standards articulated in the current BPS Ethics Guidelines and Code of Conduct. 

  3. When BPS selects an individual to bestow an Award or Fellow designation, the honoree will be asked to select one of the following:

    I have read the BPS Ethics Guidelines and Code of Conduct and agree to conduct myself in accordance with these standards. I understand that the Society’s decision to confer an Award or Fellow designation is based both on recognition of professional achievement and on whether an honoree’s conduct has been consistent with the Society’s standards. I attest that I have not been found to have engaged in conduct contrary to these standards in any proceeding or investigation or settled a complaint alleging such conduct, and that I am not, to my knowledge, currently the subject of such an investigation or pending proceeding.
     

    I have read the BPS Ethics Guidelines and Code of Conduct and agree to conduct myself in accordance with these standards. I understand that the Society’s decision to confer an Award or Fellow designation is based both on recognition of professional achievement and on whether an honoree’s conduct has been consistent with the Society’s standards.  Other than as disclosed in the confidential statement I am submitting to the Society Office, I am not, to my knowledge, currently the subject of any proceeding or investigation based on an allegation of conduct contrary to BPS’s professional conduct standards, and I have not, to my knowledge, engaged in conduct contrary to those professional conduct standards, been found in any proceeding or investigation to have engaged in such conduct, or settled a complaint alleging such conduct.
     

    I decline to be considered for a BPS Award or Fellow designation.  I understand that no negative imputation will be ascribed to my preference not to have this nomination advance.
     

  4. Once an Award or Fellow designation is bestowed, the Society will follow the process described below if developments lead to consideration about whether to revoke the same. 

Award Revocation

The Society may, at its sole discretion, determine whether to revoke the Award or Fellow status of individuals in cases in which there is strong evidence of current or past scientific misconduct, serious breaches of professional ethics, or other breaches of BPS’s Ethics Guidelines. In considering revocation awards based, BPS will abide by the following procedures: 

  1. Requests to consider revocation must be made in writing using the secure online form on the BPS Website.  Anonymous requests are discouraged.
     
    1. Requests must include an investigative report and/or verifiable record or announcement of findings or actions taken (or links thereto) from a credible body such as the federal government’s Office of Research Integrity, other federal or state agencies (e.g., NSF, NIH), a professional organization, an academic institution, or a court of law, or must reflect admitted conduct by the awardee. 
       
    2. Media reports alone will not be sufficient to support a request. 
       
    3. A finding from BPS itself could be the basis for a request, such as a report produced due to an investigation of alleged inappropriate behavior at a BPS meeting. 
       
    4. Although the content of the report may be shared with the Awardee or Fellow (“Honoree”), BPS will keep the identity of the reporter confidential except as may be required by a court of competent jurisdiction or as otherwise required to comply with BPS’s legal obligations. 
       
  2. Once the request is received, it will be reviewed by the BPS Officers: President, Past-President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Executive Officer. 
     
  3. Upon receipt of a report, the BPS Officers will conduct a preliminary review to determine whether the request is substantive, has adequate documentation, and complies with these procedures. As a result, the case will either proceed or be dismissed due to lack of supporting documentation. If there is insufficient documentation and the complainant has provided contact information to BPS, BPS will provide the complainant with the opportunity to provide supplemental documentation before the BPS Officers dismiss the request. 
     
  4. BPS deliberations and decisions will be based on the evidence or information submitted or that is otherwise available publicly or in BPS’s own records. Except as stipulated in this policy, no solicitation of other information from third parties or of new complaints or charges will occur as part of the deliberations. BPS will not undertake its own, independent investigation of the facts presented as part of this process, outside of consulting publicly available information or its own records. 
     
  5. If the BPS Officers decide there is merit to moving a case to a Council discussion, the Honoree will be notified in writing of the recommendation and provided a copy of the documentation that served as a basis for the recommendation (other than identity of the complainant). The Honoree will be provided at least 30 days before the date of the Council meeting to submit a written response. 
     
  6. The BPS Officers’ recommendation and the Honoree’s response, if any, will be provided to the full Council for consideration at a meeting of the Council. The Honoree will be provided the opportunity to participate telephonically in the meeting by providing a statement of up to 10 minutes in length followed by Q&A with Council. A 2/3 majority of voting Council members will be required to revoke the award and/or issue a public letter of censure. The Council may also, by majority vote, take any other action it deems appropriate in its discretion, in addition to revocation of the award. Such actions may include but are not limited to barring the awardee from attendance at BPS events or, in accordance with procedures in the Bylaws, revoking BPS membership. 
     
  7. Notification of revocation or other sanctions imposed will be provided to the Honoree and may be communicated through standard Council reporting channels to the membership.