Sampleexpertsletter

From IEEE Milestones Wiki

This is sample text for letter from Milestone proposal advocate to outside experts

Dear [name of outside expert],

I’m writing on behalf of the IEEE History Committee to request your help as an independent expert reviewing a milestone proposal for possible approval as an IEEE Milestone.

IEEE’s Milestone program celebrates technical achievements related to IEEE’s fields of interest. IEEE members propose the achievements, and the IEEE History Committee does a thorough job of vetting them before sending on any recommendation for approval to the IEEE Board of Directors. My role as Advocate is to shepherd this proposal through the vetting process. Part of this process requires the assessment from two independent external experts. In order to preserve objectivity, expert reviewers who have worked for a company or a team involved in the achievement being proposed, published with the proposer(s), or had a project related to the achievement funded are asked to decline to review the proposal.

The proposal for which the History Committee would like your assessment is [docket number] [Title of proposed milestone]. The proposal can be found at [link to proposal on ETHW].

In your review, the IEEE History Committee would like you to assess four particular aspects of the proposal:

  1. Is the suggested wording of the Plaque Citation accurate?
  2. Is the evidence presented in the proposal of sufficient substance and accuracy to support the Citation?
  3. Does the proposed milestone represent a significant technical achievement?
  4. Were there similar or competing achievements? If so, have the proposers adequately described these and their relationship to the achievement being proposed?

In answering these questions, the History Committee asks that you apply a similar level of rigor to that used to peer-review an article, or evaluate a research proposal. Some elaboration is desirable. Of course the Committee would welcome any additional observations that you may have regarding this proposal.

If your assessment is favorable, I would like to include it, with your permission, in the discussion area that accompanies each proposal as part of the permanent record on the ETHW that the public will see. If your assessment is negative, I will still post it as part of the public record, but I will leave out your identity.

I hope that you will agree to do the review, and I look forward to receiving your comments.

Sincerely, [Name], Advocate [proposal docket number]