Test-of-Time Award

The EUCA Test-of-Time Award will be given to the best paper (as judged by a dedicated EUCA Test-of-Time Award Committee) published in the Proceedings of the European Control Conference or in the European Journal of Control ten or more years before the year of the award (e.g., in 2017 or earlier, for the 2027 award).

After the initial three years of the award (2027-2029), the time constraint will be re-discussed and possibly updated to a sliding time window (for example, “between 10 and 20 years preceding the award”).

At most one (1) EUCA Test-of-Time Award will be presented annually at the EUCA Awards Ceremony. The Award will consist of:

  • A certificate laminated on a plaque (one for each author).
  • A cash award in the amount of Euro 2,000 made payable to the author (or the designated representative of the paper authors, in case of multiple co-authors) of the winning paper.
  • Travel expenses to the ECC (round trip restricted coach air fare, conference registration, and three conference-rate hotel nights) will be paid to the author (or the designated representative of the paper authors, in case of multiple co-authors).

The award will be presented for the first time at ECC 2027. The deadline for nominations for the 2027 award is November 30th, 2026.

Award Information

Eligibility
The authors of papers presented at the European Control Conference (and included in the ECC Proceedings) or published in the European Journal of Control in the years n-10 or earlier are eligible to receive the EUCA Test-of-Time Award in year n. At least one of the authors should be alive at the time of the nomination.

Basis for judging
The EUCA Test-of-Time Award Committee considers the long-term and profound impact of a paper that has significantly shaped the research field ever since the time of its publication, standing the test of time. When judging the impact, the award committee considers any aspect of control theory, technology, education, or implementation. Further, given the long horizon of the award, the paper’s impact should be widely recognized and clearly documented in supporting evidence and reference letters accompanying the award nomination.

Funding
The plaque(s), the cash award and all travel expenses will be funded by the EUCA.

Nominations

Nominations for the award must be submitted electronically through the Papercept Award system. Deadline for submission of nominations: November 30.

Go to https://controls.papercept.net/conferences/scripts/start.pl and follow “Submit a nomination to EUCA Awards 2027”.

Nominators should enter the PIN of any author of the paper being nominated, then upload the nomination letter as a pdf file, and also upload a pdf file of the paper. The nomination letter should not exceed three pages.

After uploading a nomination letter in Papercept, nominators can log in with their Papercept PIN and password, and invite others to submit supporting letters, by clicking on “Send support requests and reminders for the nomination” (in a manner similar to requesting a review for a paper). A maximum of 3 reference letters can be submitted to support the nomination.

The nominator and the authors of the supporting letters must not be members of the EUCA Council nor members of the Award Committee. Self-nomination and self-support are not allowed.

Administration

  • The Award will be administered as part of the Awards Program of the EUCA.
  • The Award Committee will be appointed/confirmed by the EUCA Council no later than January 31 of each year in which ECC takes place.
  • The Award Committee is made of three members serving for a three-year term.
  • (Appointed and elected) members of the Council cannot serve as members of the Award Committee.
  • Award Committee members and Council members cannot be selected for the Award.
  • Award Committee members should declare any possible conflict of interest with the candidates and abstain from the evaluation of such candidates. In case of doubts regarding conflicts of interest, the Award Committee should ask for the Council’s advice.
  • The Award Committee selects the paper to be awarded no later than March 31 of each year in which ECC takes place and informs the EUCA President.
  • The EUCA President invites the authors of the awarded paper to attend the ECC Awards Ceremony to receive the Award.