I. These guidelines are established to administer the Presidential Science Prize(PSP), with the aim of promoting Taiwan’s position in the international scientific community, and recognizing researchers who have made innovative and monumental contributions to international academic research in the fields of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Life Sciences,Humanities and Social Sciences, and Engineering Sciences, especially those scholars whose works have had major impact on the development and applications of these fields in Taiwan.

II. To implement the selection and award of PSP, the Presidential Science Prize Steering Committee (PSP Committee) is established, and its composition is as follows.

(A) The PSP Committee consists of fifteen distinguished scientists and scholars, including five permanent members – the President of Academia Sinica, the Minister of National Science and Technology Council, the Deputy Secretary-General to the President, the Minister of Education, and the President of the National Health Research Institutes. The remaining ten members of the Committee shall, in principle, include five university presidents and five outstanding scientists/scholars from within the Taiwan community. The President of Academia Sinica will chair the Committee, and the Minister of National Science and Technology Council will serve as co-chair. The Executive Secretary of the Academic Advisory Committee of Academia Sinica, and the Deputy Minister incharge- of Academic Affairs of the National Science and Technology Council, will provide secretarial assistance to the Committee.

(B) The members of the PSP Committee will serve for a term of two years,and will be eligible for renewal of membership upon expiration of each term. Exceptions will be made in cases of a permanent member whose membership comes with his/her professional appointment, where the term follows accordingly. Non-permanent members will not have their appointments affected due to changes in their professional positions.

(C) A member of the PSP Committee is not eligible for nomination as a PSP candidate during the term of office, and cannot resign from the Committee so as to qualify as a nominee. A Committee member who resigns for other reasons will remain ineligible for nomination until the expiration of his/her term. If a Committee member resigns or departs for any reason, a new Committee member will be appointed in accordance with stipulations in Article II(A) to serve out the remaining term of the vacating member.

(D) The PSP Committee members are expected to attend scheduled meetings. Should a member find himself/herself in a position that he/she is unable to be present at a certain meeting, he/she should so inform the Chair of the PSP Committee in writing, explaining the circumstances, and designate another member of the Committee as his/her proxy, with all the rights and privileges to represent him/her during the discussion and disposition of all agenda items as well as any unscheduled business that might ensue.

III. Nominees for PSP are as follows.

(A) Individuals nominated by the academicians of Academia Sinica or previous PSP awardees;

(B) Individuals nominated by academic institutions, R&D institutions or associations, and community leaders or social elites invited by the PSP Committee.

IV. The selection process for PSP is as follows.

(A) The formation of the Selection Group is as follows:

(1) Four Selection Groups will be formed to screen the nominees in each of the four categories of the award - Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Engineering Sciences, and to provide an in-depth evaluation of each of the candidates. The PSP Committee will appoint nine to eleven experts to each Selection Group. Each Selection Group shall designate a group leader to serve as its spokesperson.

(2) Members of the Selection Group are appointed without remuneration.

(B) The Selection Procedure is as follows.

(1) The Selection Groups will review each individual nomination and prepare a written in-depth evaluation of the suitability of each of the nominees for the award in the four categories of PSP. A shortlist of candidates will be recommended by each selection group for further consideration by the PSP Committee.

(2) The final list of Prizewinners shall be jointly determined in a joint meeting of the PSP Committee with the leaders of the four Selection Groups.

If a Selection Group leader is unable to attend a joint meeting of the PSP Committee with the leaders of the four Selection Groups, he/she shall inform the Chair of the PSP Committee in writing and designate another member from their Selection Group as their proxy.

This proxy shall have full authority to act on behalf of the absent leader during the joint meeting. If a member needs to depart from the meeting prematurely, he/she shall forfeit their right to vote and shall not be allowed to designate another attending member to exercise their voting rights.

(3) All meetings of the Selection Groups as well as the joint meetings of the PSP Committee with the leaders of the four Selection Groups must have at least two-thirds of the members present to satisfy the quorum. The decision(s) resulting from meetings conducted without a quorum are non-binding. In the final selection process, the shortlist or the finalist(s) must be approved by a vote of better than three-quarters majority of all the members in attendance at the joint meeting.

At the joint meeting described above, except for the leaders of Selection Groups, no other Committee member may designate a substitute to attend on his/her behalf.

(4) Members of the PSP Committee as well as the four Selection Groups shall adhere to the conflict of interest principle. Awarding and presentation of PSP is as follows.

(A) PSP will be presented every two years, with, in principle, no more than four winners on each occasion (without preference to category). When no appropriate candidate has been identified for a category of PSP, an award will not be made in that category.

(B) PSP in each of the four categories includes a monetary award of Three Million NT dollars, a plaque and a trophy. Presentation of PSP will be made in a prestigious award ceremony presided by the President of the Republic of China.

(C) The Prizewinners will give public lectures on their award-winning work, or other appropriate arrangements will be made to introduce the awardees to the public.

V. The expense of the selection process of PSP should be arranged by the National Science and Technology Council in the annual budget.