About STAA

2002 - Overview | About STAA | Level I Awards | Level II Awards | Level III Awards | STAA Honorable Mentions

What is STAA?

This Agency-wide competition for the Scientific and Technological Achievement Award (STAA) is among the most prestigious of EPA scientific award programs. The STAA awards promote and recognize scientific and technological achievement by EPA employees. The STAA program began in 1980 and is sponsored by the Office of Research and Development (ORD). EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) provides scientific and technological evaluation. While this program is sponsored by ORD and has considerable ORD participation, the competition is Agency-wide.

What is eligible for STAA?

To be eligible for consideration, the nominated research must be published in a peer-reviewed journal, must initiate or revise a scientific principle or procedure, and must be recognized as a major achievement within its field of study. Publication date limits are set each year at the time of the formal announcement.

How does the STAA Program work?

The 2004 award cycle has eleven research categories under which a peer reviewed paper can be nominated:

1. Control Systems and Technology
2. Ecological Research
3. Health Effects Research and Human Health Risk Assessment
4. Monitoring and Measurement Methods
5. Transport and Fate
6. Review Articles
7. Risk Management and Ecosystem Restoration
8. Integrated Risk Assessment
9. Social Sciences
10. Environmental Futures
11. Environmental Statistics

Four levels of awards are available within each research category. Winners of a Level I award receive $5,000, a congratulatory plaque, a letter of appreciation, and a certificate. Level II winners receive $2,500, a letter, and a certificate. Level III winners receive $1,000, a letter, and a certificate. Honorable Mention winners receive a letter and a certificate. The monetary award is distributed according to the amount of total effort contributed by each author.

Nomination packages are received by National Center for Environmental Research in ORD. After the nomination packages are screened for completeness by NCER, the packages are forwarded to the EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB convenes a subcommittee to review the nominations. Each year, the subcommittee members are selected based on their expertise in the categories of science and technology addressed by the nominated publications. When necessary, the subcommittee obtains additional reviews from experts to ensure the credibility of the review process. The SAB reviews the nomination packages according to the factors provided in the annual guidelines.

The 2004 STAA package is provided here for your use.
EPA Scientific and Technological Achievement Award Nomination Guidelines (PDF) (8 pp, 418 KB, about PDF)
EPA Scientific and Technological Achievement Award Nomination Form (PDF) (4 pp, 28 KB, about PDF)
EPA Scientific and Technological Achievement Award Nomination Form (WordPerfect format)