These awards are made by the Council of the Soil Science Society of South Africa, on the recommendation of its Standing Awards Committee where so required. The Standing Awards Committee, as appointed by the Council, consists, for the purposes of continuity as well as uniformity, of five members, each with a replacement, of whom the longest-serving member retires at the end of each year and is replaced by a new member. The longest-serving member of the Committee acts as chairman.

The following awards can be made:

1. Honorary membership (a silver medal is presented during a congress) according to the constitution, which determines as follows:

(i) Honorary membership can be awarded to a full member whom the Society will honour for his meritorious service to the Society and for the realisation of the aims of the Society, or based on outstanding achievements in the scientific field.

(ii) Honorary members must be elected by a two-thirds majority of Council members once notice has been given at a previous Council meeting of the intention to propose the member concerned for honorary membership. A written motivation for honorary membership must be delivered at any stage to the secretary of the Society. It must be signed by a proposer and seconder, both of whom must be full members in good standing. The election of honorary members will only be announced during the AGM of the Society.

(iii) Honorary members are exempted from the payment of membership fees or congress registration fees.

(iv) Honorary membership is limited to a maximum of 10 honorary members.

2. Silver medal for students who show exceptional achievements in soil science at universities. The following requirements exist for the award:

(i) A medal, which will be provided by the Society on request, may be awarded annually by each university where soil science is offered.

(ii) Each university decides on its own norms and procedures whereby the awards are evaluated.

(iii) The announcement of the recipient, and the presentation of the award, is the responsibility of each university. The Council recommends, however, that it should be used as far as possible as a marketing opportunity for the field of soil science.

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3. Silver medal for excellence in papers presented at a Soil Science Society congress.

The following requirements exist for the award:

(i) A medal is awarded during a congress for a paper delivered at that congress.

(ii) Awards may be made in each of the following categories:

• (a) Best paper by a researcher older than 30.
• (b) Best paper by a researcher younger than 30.
• (c) Best paper presented on new, implementable technology.
• (d) Best poster paper presented.

(iii) The procedure for the evaluation of papers is as follows:

• The Awards Committee evaluates all papers presented during a congress, with further consultation if required, and makes recommendations to the Council.
• The final decision concerning awards rests with the Council.

(iv) Both the scientific quality of the paper as well as the standard of the presentation must be taken into consideration by the Awards Committee. Aspects to which special attention should be paid, are:

• Originality: determine the degree to which a paper reflects a new approach to the subject, a constructive formulation of a new hypothesis, ingenuity, discernment, imagination, etc.

• Impact: evaluate the degree to which the paper will influence the work of other researchers within the field and within soil science as a whole, as well as the influence which it might have in terms of practical, useful applications in agriculture, forestry, environment etc.

• Style: assess to what degree does the paper conform to scientific accuracy, logical reasoning, relevant composition, proper results, correct interpretation and concise discussion.

• Delivery: note the confidence, enthusiasm, clarity, conciseness and timing of the presentation, quality of visual aids used and the manner in which questions are answered.

• Poster: look at the ordering, neatness and attractiveness, the arrangement of the text containing figures, tables, maps and photos, the quality of material used for effective presentation as well as the ease of comprehension and assimilation of the information.

(v) More than one award may be made for a category if the Awards Committee so desires.

(vi) An award may not be made if the Awards Committee judges that no paper is of the required standard.

(vii) Where more than one author is involved, only the author who presents the paper will receive a medal.

(viii) If the author, or one of the authors, does not present the paper, an award cannot be made.

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4. Silver medal for exceptional service to the Society or the scientific field as a whole. The following conditions apply to this award:

(i) A medal is presented during a congress.

(ii) The exceptional service must concern a period of at least 10 years.

(iii) The award is considered before each congress.

(iv) A person may receive such an award more than once.

(v) The procedure for nominations and evaluation is as follows:

• The Council requests the members of the Society for motivated nominations with two seconders and may also nominate.
• All nominations are referred by the Council to its Awards Committee.
• The Awards Committee evaluates the nominations, with further consultation if required, and makes recommendations to the Council.
• The final decision on an award rests with the Council.

(vii) If, in the opinion of the Council, the service of a candidate was not exceptional, an award may not be made in a specific year.

5. Gold medal for exceptional publication(s) in the field of soil science.

This is the highest award that the Society can bestow and is an exceptionally prestigious award. It is awarded for contributions of extraordinary scientific standard, relevant technological development and/or proven implementation and which make an exceptional contribution to the advancement of soil science. The nature, scope and impact of the nominated contribution should be really outstanding. Contributions of a multi-disciplinary nature may be considered, but the application and advantages of soil science should be prominent. The following conditions apply to this award:

(i) A medal is presented during a congress.

(ii) Recent contributions and/or those that have had an impact over the previous three years are considered.

(iii) The award may be made at each congress as long as a high standard is maintained.

(iv) The award may be made jointly to more than one person. Where a larger group of varying composition is involved, the institution for which the group works will receive a medal, as well as each member of the group. The Council will determine when such a situation exists, as well as how it should be handled.

(v) A person may receive this award more than once, but only in extremely exceptional cases at consecutive congresses

(vi) The procedure for nominations and evaluation is as follows:

• The Council requests the members of the Society for motivated nominations with two seconders and may also nominate.
• The Council evaluates the nominations, with further consultation if required. The medal may only be awarded if a two-thirds majority of Council members is in agreement.

(vii) If, in the opinion of the Council, the contributions of a nominated candidate or group were not of exceptional quality, the award will not be made at the relevant congress.

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