A.T. Yang Memorial Award in Theoretical Kinematics

Awarded at: The annual ASME Mechanisms & Robotics Conference
Purpose: This award has been established in memory of A.T. Yang and will be awarded to the best theoretical kinematics paper at the annual ASME Mechanisms & Robotics Conference. The award is not necessarily given every year, but is awarded in years where there is a paper that is judged to be deserving of the award in the area of theoretical kinematics.
Award Amount: The award will be given with a cash value of up to $1,000 (the actual award amount may vary, depending on the revenues from the endowment).
Qualifications:

1. Must present a paper concerning theoretical kinematics.
2. Must demonstrate originality, generality and contribution to the state of the art in theoretical kinematics.
3. Excellence in theoretical underpinning.
4. Clarity and conciseness of presentation.
5. Must not have an author with a conflict of interest in the selection process.

Paper Evaluation Process:

1. Papers submitted to the conference will be peer-reviewed. Reviewers can state if they believe a paper is worthy of an award.
2. Review coordinators (symposium chairs) determine which papers are in the area of theoretical kinematics. Of these, they use reviewer nominations, reviewer comments, and their own reviews, to determine what paper(s), if any, are qualified candidates for the award. The review coordinators select at most one paper from each area or symposium. These are then finalists for the A.T. Yang Memorial Award in Theoretical Kinematics. If no paper qualifies for the award, then the award will not be given that year.
3. Finalists are forwarded to the ASME Mechanisms & Robotics Awards Committee

who evaluates the papers, reviewer comments, and review-coordinator comments. The committee selects the best of these papers to receive the A.T. Yang Memorial Award in Theoretical Kinematics at the ASME Mechanisms & Robotics Conference.

4. Under circumstances where the committee finds it difficult to distinguish between two outstanding papers, the committee may recommend that the two papers share the award. In this case, the award amount will be split evenly between the two papers.
5. The A.T. Yang Memorial Award in Theoretical Kinematics will be awarded at the ASME Mechanisms & Robotics Conference. The recipients will receive a cash award and a plaque.

Topic Evaluation: After five or more years from the award inception (2005), the M&R Committee may consider evaluating the topic of the award (theoretical kinematics) to determine if it is still appropriate, and negotiate any proposed changes with the Yang family.