Nomination Process Now Open for 2016 NAB Technology Awards

Each year NAB honors several individuals and organizations who have made significant technological advances within the broadcasting industry. Recipients of these awards are chosen through a selection process guided by NAB’s Executive Committee and are recognized as technological pioneers, innovators and leaders.

The deadline for nominations is January 20, 2016. Recipients will be announced at the 2016 NAB Technology Luncheon in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 20, 2016. Here are the awards and the nomination guidelines:

The NAB Digital Leadership Award was first established in 2015 as a way to honor an individual at a broadcast station, group or network who has had a significant role in transforming a traditional broadcast business to succeed on digital media platforms.

Candidates for the Digital Leadership award must be or have been an owner, officer or employee of a company, subsidiary or division, the primary business of which is broadcasting and whose responsibilities include or intersect digital media or multi-screen media strategy, marketing, technology and/or innovation.

The merits of the candidate’s contributions are the sole factors that will be taken into account. The award will be presented to an individual at a broadcast station, group or network who has had a significant role in transforming a traditional broadcast business to succeed on digital media platforms in a measurable way (e.g. new revenue, incremental revenue, audience growth, engagement, etc.) through the use of technology, mobile applications, social media or Web-based information management and marketing.

The candidates need to have made contributions in one or more of the following areas:

Leadership in Digital Media or Multi-screen Media
New Technology Applications
Mobile Applications
Web-based Information Management and Marketing
Streaming Media
Website/Web Tools
Digital Advertising
Social Media and Related Applications
Any other outstanding, new-media-related contribution

Nominations are screened by an outside panel of digital media experts and the award winner is ultimately selected by the NAB Executive Committee. The committee will place emphasis on the most recent achievements of the nominees.

Established in 1959, the NAB Engineering Achievement Award is presented each year to an individual for outstanding accomplishments in the broadcast industry. Separate awards are presented for achievements in radio and television.

The candidates for the two awards will be evaluated on the basis of a single contribution, or multiple contributions that have significantly advanced the state of the art of broadcast engineering. The size of the candidate’s organization is not a determining factor. Instead, only the merits of the individual’s contributions are taken into account.

Tom King NAB Engineering Achievement Award

2015 Radio Engineering Achievement Award recipient Tom King with NAB CTO Sam Matheny

Candidates must be or have been an owner, officer or employee of a company, subsidiary or division whose primary business is, or directly supports broadcasting. This includes employees of the Federal government directly engaged in broadcast engineering work.

The candidates must have made contributions in one or more of the following categories:

Inventions
Development of new techniques
Dissemination of technical knowledge and literature
Leadership in broadcast engineering affairs
An outstanding contribution, which, in the opinion of the NAB Executive Committee, warrants consideration.
The candidates engineering contributions should span a reasonable period of time. The NAB Executive Committee will select the award winners, and will emphasize the more recent achievements of the nominees.

2015 Television Engineering Achievement Award recipient Richard Friedel with NAB CTO Sam Matheny

NAB presents the Technology Innovation Award to organizations that bring advanced technology exhibits and demonstrations of significant merit to the NAB Show. The nominated exhibit should present advanced research and development projects in communications technologies that have not yet been commercialized.

Candidates for the Technology Innovation Awards must be organizations who are currently exhibiting at the NAB Show. The size of the organization is not a determining factor. Nominated projects may not be commercial products that have been offered for sale prior to or at the NAB Show. The merit of the technology exhibit is the sole factor to be taken into account.