About the Aming Tu Prize

The Aming Tu Prize is awarded by the Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts (DILA). It is named in honor of Professor Aming Tu (1952-2016), who was one of the founding members of the Buddhist Studies Internet Database (now the Digital Library and Museum of Buddhist Studies, hosted at National Taiwan University), the vice-director of the Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA), the Digital Database of Buddhist Tripitaka Catalogues, and a host of other projects. His life-long aim was to make the rich Chinese Buddhist heritage available in the digital realm. The Aming Tu Prize is given in recognition of an outstanding creative contribution to Digital Buddhist Studies by one or more scholars at any stage in their career. It may also be given to a collaborative project as a whole. The contribution must involve innovative use of information technology, and ideally should combine published, peer-reviewed research with the development of research-related tools or resources. It is hoped that this prize will not only recognize excellent work already completed, but also encourage new projects and fresh approaches.

Important information and dates

• The award will be bestowed every three years.
• The award will consist of a prize of US$5,000. Awardees will be asked to give a presentation at the award ceremony.
• The expected timeline for the award is as follows:
  • March : Nominations due
  • April : Submissions due
  • August : Announcement

Nomination Process

The scholarly community will be encouraged to nominate prospective candidates. The call for nominations will include a form that should be completed for each candidate, indicating basic information about the candidate and their project. Self-nominations are accepted. Members of the community can also contact members of the award committee to facilitate nominations.

Submission Rules and Guidelines

• Nominees for the Aming Tu Prize will be contacted by members of the award committee within 4 weeks after the nomination due date in March. The nominees are also encouraged to submit an application for review, and the applications are due by April.
• Along with contact information, nominees will be asked to submit a 1000-1500 word summary describing the project/initiative. This summary should reflect the objective of the Prize and the criteria (Eligibility, Review Process and Criteria) as outlined below

Eligibility

• Individuals or collaborative projects are eligible to apply.
• The project under review should point to external documentation or have a web presence.
• The project must be accessible and should not be a commercial product or service.

Review Process and Criteria

The award committee consists of five scholars working in Buddhist Studies and/or Digital Humanities. The committee members will be appointed by the foundation. The award will be given based on the following criteria:

• innovative contribution to the field of Buddhist Studies;
• new application or method for research in Buddhist Studies;
• new resource for research in Buddhist Studies;
• new insight or finding, supported by Digital Humanities methods.

Terms

• The prize will be awarded at a ceremony. The winning team will be invited to send a representative to give a lecture at the award ceremony. DILA will provide (economy) travel and accommodation for the representative. The location and format of the award ceremony will be determined by the award committee.