SID Seeking Nominations for 2026 Honors and Awards

THERE ARE FEW GREATER REWARDS IN OUR PROFESSIONAL LIVES THAN recognition by our peers. For individuals in the display industry, the most significant examples of this recognition are awards from the Society for Information Display (SID). Winners of SID awards represent the most notable contributors that have built today's display technology and industry.

The Society relies on its members to nominate individuals most deserving of this recognition. On behalf of SID's Honors and Awards Committee, we encourage you to participate in the nomination of worthy candidates for next year's honors and awards. The SID Board of Directors grants awards based on recommendations made by the committee. Seven major prizes are awarded to individuals based on their outstanding achievements. These prizes are as follows:

The Karl Ferdinand Braun Prize for Technological Impact, SID's most prestigious award, is awarded for “outstanding technical achievement, which also has had a significant impact on the display industry.” It honors those who have pioneered the technologies underpinning commercial displays. This prize is named in honor of the German physicist and Nobel laureate Karl Ferdinand Braun, who invented the cathode-ray tube in 1897.

The Jan Rajchman Prize for Science and Technology in Displays is awarded for “outstanding scientific or technical contributions to electronic display technology.” This prize, named for the Polish computer pioneer, is open to academic achievement, in addition to notable technology developments that are recognized as groundbreaking in their field.

The David Sarnoff Industrial Achievement Award is conferred for “major impact on the business of the electronic display industry.” The Sarnoff Prize was created in honor of RCA visionary David Sarnoff. It honors those whose achievements have shaped the current electronic display industry.

The Peter Brody Prize for Early Career Achievement is awarded to “young researchers and engineers (under age 40) who have made major technical or scientific contributions to the science or technology of electronic displays.” It is named for Peter Brody, who was a co-inventor of active-matrix technology, which revolutionized modern electronic displays.

The Otto Schade Prize for Image Quality in Displays is awarded for “outstanding scientific or technical achievement in the image quality of electronic displays.” The prize honors RCA engineer Otto Schade, an early pioneer in the development of television. This award recognizes vision scientists, human factor engineers, and those engineers whose efforts have led to major improvements in the visual quality of electronic displays.

The Slottow–Owaki Prize for Education and Training in Displays is awarded for “outstanding contributions to the education and training of students and/or professionals in the field of electronic displays.” This honors Professor H. Gene Slottow of the University of Illinois (an inventor of the plasma display), and Professor Kenichi Owaki of the Hiroshima Institute of Technology (an early leader of the pioneering Fujitsu Plasma Display program).

The membership grade of SID Fellow is one of unusual professional distinction. Each year the SID Board of Directors elects a limited number (up to 0.1 percent of the membership in that year) of SID members in good standing to the grade of Fellow. To be eligible, candidates must have been members for at least five years at the time of nomination, with the last three years consecutive. A candidate for election to Fellow is a member with “outstanding and widely recognized engineering or scientific contributions to the display field.”

The Special Recognition Award is given annually to members of the display engineering and scientific communities for “distinguished and valued contributions in the field.” These contributions may be outstanding technical accomplishments, notable contributions to the literature, extraordinary entrepreneurial achievements, excellence in education, or uncommon service to SID. SID membership is encouraged, but not required, for nominees of this award.

For more information about the awards or to download a nomination form, go to https://www.sid.org/Awards/Individual-Honors-and-Awards. Detailed instructions and requirements for nomination packages are available on the site. Questions about the nomination process and criteria can be sent to [email protected].