New Product Announcements and Awards

New Product Award

All exhibitors who will be presenting "new products" at SLAS2018 are encouraged to participate in this competition. The product entry must be less than one-year-old in its current form (since SLAS' previous annual conference) to be considered. If your company meets the criteria as detailed below, and wants to be considered for the SLAS2018 New Product Award please complete the application.

The SLAS New Product Award will be presented to as many as three winning product entries at SLAS2018. Recipients of the award will receive the following:

Official SLAS New Product Award Plaque
SLAS New Product Award Media Coverage
Inclusion in SLAS Awards News Release
Picture on SLAS2018 Web Site
Interview on The Lab Man Podcast Show at SLAS2018 (Live and Recorded in The SLAS Booth on the Exhibit Floor)

Competition Guidelines/Process

• Prior to the exhibition, exhibiting companies are notified about the SLAS New Product Award and given the opportunity to submit their product for participation.
• All product entries must be on the exhibition floor and have some supporting data indicating the product works as advertised. (Exceptions may be made for product entries deemed too large to display at the exhibition center) Supporting data MUST be in printed form for the judges to take with them for discussion.
  • Supporting data may include, but is not limited to, demonstration on-site, product literature and statistics, podium and/or poster presentations, etc.
• The product entry must be less than one-year-old in its current form (since SLAS' previous annual conference) to be considered.

New Product Entry Clarification: A product is considered new and therefore eligible for this contest if it is commercially available for purchase within 90 days pre- and post-conference.

• Innovation AveNEW submissions – new products from participating companies on Innovation AveNEW will be considered only if the product is commercially available for purchase within 90 days pre- and 180 days post-conference.

Major product enhancements may be considered.

The top three winning companies of the SLAS New Product Award must have agreed to participate in the competition and pre-accept the award before being officially awarded.

Evaluation Guidelines/Process

Judging

Monday, February 5 and Tuesday, February 6

A panel of judges will visit the booths and meet with your company representative to review and score the new product. There may be more than one group of judges visiting the booth during the exhibit hall hours.

• There must always be at least one individual at the booth during the judging time frame that is capable of discussing the product with the judges.

Note — At the primary judges' discretion, they may choose up to three top new product entries, but no more than three winners. In some years, there may only be one or two top new product winners.

Confirmation & Announcement

The top three product entries will be announced and notified in the Exhibit Hall at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 6, 2018. The three winners will also be announced and featured that same day at the 2018 SLAS New Product Awards Press Conference in the SLAS2018 Exhibition Theater at 5:00 p.m. The three winners will also be featured in the live taping of The Lab Man podcast on Wednesday, February 7, 2018.

The three New Product Award winners will also be notified at the booths in the Exhibit Hall at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 7, 2018. Judges will visit the booth to notify the winners and to take media photos.

Scoring Criteria

The judges' decision criteria will be based on the following four categories (in no order of significance):

Market Opportunity
Impact
Originality
Proof of Concept

Scoring System

5-to-1 Rating Scale:
5 — Outstanding, Novel and Broad Impact for a New Product
4 — Very Good, Solid, Novel Product
3 — Some Unique New Product Qualities
2 — Needs More Proof and Development
1 — Not Substantially New or Improved
0 — Not New at All

Eligibility

The following individuals are not eligible to participate or be considered for the SLAS New Product Award: SLAS Board of Directors, officers, the SLAS Awards and Grants Advisory Committee, contractors, employees, members of the Judging Panel, family members, and/or those considered to be "insiders." Candidates companies affiliated with anyone on the Judging Panel are permitted to participate, but the Judge must recuse him or herself from evaluating that particular candidate.

Non-Discrimination Statement

Discrimination based on race, religion, gender, age, national origin, ethnicity, veterans status, or disability in regard to the SLAS New Product Award is prohibited. Each candidate company shall be evaluated based on the award's criteria which are tied to SLAS's exempt purpose of advancing the science and education of technologies in the laboratory.

Reservation

SLAS reserves the right to select and deselect any company at any given time. All decisions are final.

Questions?

Contact Mary Geismann, SLAS Senior Manager, Member Services
+1.630.256.SLAS (7527) ext 109
mgeismann@slas.org