Sec. 8. Authorization of presidential awards for excellence in science, mathematics, and engineering mentoring

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The Director shall administer the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring program (referred to in this section as the PAESMEM program) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to recognize, on an annual basis, outstanding mentoring in STEM fields in primary, secondary, and higher education. The following 3 types of PAESMEM program awards shall be provided: Nominees for the Florence R. Sabin Distinguished PAESMEM program award shall be United States citizens or lawful permanent residents in industry, academia, primary and secondary education, military, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and government.

Distinguished PAESMEM program winners shall have not less than 5 years of sustained, exceptional mentoring with demonstrated impact on underrepresented groups. Nominees for the Roland B. Scott Early Career Mentor PAESMEM program award shall be United States citizens or lawful permanent residents in industry, academia, primary and secondary education, military, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and government. Consideration for Early Career Mentor PAESMEM program awards shall be given to early career mentors who are scientists, technicians, post-baccalaureate, post-masters, post-doctoral, new STEM faculty, and new STEM K–12 teachers (both pre- and in-service), in public and private sectors.

Early Career Mentor PAESMEM program winners shall have not less than 2 years of sustained, exceptional mentoring with demonstrated impact on underrepresented groups. Nominees for the Carl Sagan Organizational PAESMEM program award shall be a United States educational institution or agency, corporation, foundation, military or government agency, or nonprofit organization. An Organizational PAESMEM program nominee may be a mentoring program or activity within an organization. The Director shall solicit applications across all types of entities until at least 100 applications are received for each of the 3 types of PAESMEM program awards described under subsection (b).

PAESMEM program winners shall be announced and honored annually, not later than 1 year after the application deadline. A minimum of 20 PAESMEM program winners shall be honored annually in each of the categories described under paragraphs

(1)through

(3)of subsection (b). Except as provided in paragraph (5), each PAESMEM program winner shall receive a monetary award of $10,000 and a Presidential citation. The Director, in awarding— PAESMEM program winners in each of the categories described under paragraphs

(1)and

(2)of subsection (b), shall make a fair distribution of awards to individuals who are from underrepresented groups; and PAESMEM program winners in the category described under subsection (b)(3), shall make awards to all types of entities described under subsection (b)(3). Annually, not less than 5 of the Roland B. Scott Early Career Mentor PAESMEM program winners shall be reserved for early career faculty at institutions of higher education who have shown promise for making a significant contribution to their field of expertise. Such faculty members shall receive an additional $50,000 award that can be used towards advancing their program of research. Nominations for PAESMEM program awards shall be exempt from merit review criteria. The Director shall provide Congress with an annual list of PAESMEM program winners, including the name, institution, and a brief synopsis of the impact of the mentoring efforts. There are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021 to carry out this section.