Shainin Medal
The Shainin Medal is an ASQ overall Society Award that recognizes significant innovation. The Shainin Medal is presented to an individual for the development of a unique and/or creative method for improving the quality and/or reliability of products, processes or services.
The Shainin Medal was approved by ASQ in 2004 to honor Dorian Shainin, an ASQ Honorary Member, who was best known for the “Shainin System” -– a highly structured and disciplined approach to solving complex problems with practical tools and techniques he developed to help manufacturers and businesses solve problems, including problems that had been considered unsolvable.
Nominations for the Shainin Medal must be received by October 1.
Who is Eligible:
• The Shainin Medal is presented to an individual and is not an award for a team.
• The nominee needs to be an ASQ member.
• Nomination information should be independently verifiable.
• Persons serving on the Shainin Medal Committee, or their immediate families are not eligible for the award until three years after the completion of their service.
• Self-nomination by a nominee is welcomed.
• The nominator is familiar with the nominee’s method.
• The nominator completes all questions in the (downloaded) nomination. The nominator may elicit information from the nominee to complete the nomination questions.
• The nominator sends the completed nomination in an email to ASQ Headquarters.
• If a Shainin Medal Committee member is serving as a nominator, the committee member will excuse him/herself from voting for the medalist.
• The nominator may not serve as a nomination reference.
Criteria for being Awarded the Medal:
Criteria for nomination and selection will be based on:
The development of a unique and/or creative method for improving the quality and/or reliability of products, processes or services. Unique is defined as being without like or equal. Creative is defined as having the quality of creating something new rather than imitating what was done in the past. Submissions will also be evaluated based on usefulness. This is best demonstrated by endorsements from users. A brief biography of the nominee and publications/ presentations on the method also support the nomination.
The nomination must include:
• Completion of all the questions in the (downloaded) nomination, including a well-written description of the development of a unique and/or creative method and its significance (8-pages maximum), a 1-page biography and a list of publications/presentations on the development of the method.
• A collection of one to five reference letters of support/endorsement on the usefulness of the method by users of the method in their applications.
There can only be one Shainin medalist awarded each year.