The first round of submissions for the 2025-2026 season runs from Thursday, June 12, to Thursday, July 24.
The call for similar technologies for the 2025-2026 season will run from Tuesday, August 19, to Thursday, September 8.
Click here to begin your submission.
If you have any questions regarding the awards process, please contact the Scientific and Technical Awards office at scitech@oscars.org.
AWARDS DEFINITIONS
- Academy Awards for scientific and technical achievement shall be given by the Board of Governors upon recommendation from the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee and the Board Awards Committee. Awards may be given for devices, methods, formulas, discoveries, or inventions of special and outstanding value to the motion picture arts and sciences.
- Except in extraordinary circumstances, no awards shall be given posthumously. No awards shall be given where all recipients are deceased. No Academy Award of Merit may be given posthumously.
- To avoid conflicts of interest, individuals directly involved with any achievement under awards consideration must not participate in the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee and its surrogate groups. Further, members of the committee and its surrogate groups who have a personal connection with any achievement shall not be present during deliberation and shall abstain from voting on the achievement. Finally, individuals who work at the same organization as a potential award recipient but who are not associated with the achievement may participate but shall abstain from voting on the achievement.
- The Academy reserves the right to revoke award recognition in the event a conflict of interest not previously disclosed is discovered.
No sitting member of the Board of Governors shall be eligible – through direct application, application by proxy, discovery by committee, or by upgrade from a previous achievement – to be the sole recipient of the Technical Achievement Award, Scientific and Engineering Award, or the Academy Award of Merit for a Scientific and Technical achievement.
- In exceptional circumstances, a sitting member of the Board of Governors may be recognized alongside other contributors. The Academy will resolve all issues of eligibility.
- No current employee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences shall be – through direct application, application by proxy, discovery by committee, or by upgrade from a previous achievement – the recipient of the Technical Achievement Award, Scientific and Engineering Award, or the Academy Award of Merit for a Scientific and Technical achievement and shall remain ineligible for a period of three years after their employment has ended.
- Any projects, inventions, programs, or initiatives directly originated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are ineligible to receive a Scientific and Technical Award.
- Awards for scientific and technical achievement may be granted in any of the following three classifications:
For those achievements that have an extraordinary influence upon the advancement of the motion picture arts and sciences.
SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING AWARD
For those achievements that exhibit a high level of engineering and are crucial to the progress of the motion picture arts and sciences.
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
For those achievements with an outstanding contribution to the progress of the motion picture arts and sciences.
PROCEDURES
- An official public announcement will be made, and requests shall be sent to individuals and organizations engaged in scientific and technical developments for motion pictures, inviting them to submit any devices, methods, formulas, discoveries, or inventions for awards consideration. These achievements may be developed by the submitter or by any other organizations.
- The Academy President shall annually appoint two chairs of the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee who shall a serve a one-year term.
- After reviewing the initial submissions, the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee Chairs shall select members to serve on the Committee. Committee members must be members of the Academy, and these selections are subject to the approval of the Academy President. Committee members should be selected based on their professional and technical expertise and should be able to provide meaningful input regarding the submissions received. The committee will be dissolved upon the completion of the annual term. Committee members must be representatives of the motion picture and/or technical fields.
- A list of all areas of potential achievements (“Areas of Focus”) under consideration shall be widely publicized to permit anyone with claims of prior or relevant invention, or of achievements similar to those under consideration, to bring them to the attention of the committee.
a. A maximum of six Areas of Focus may be investigated per award year.
- In evaluating the submitted achievements, the committee shall strive to seek out other items similar to those being considered for awards. If such items are discovered, they may be considered on an equal basis.
- The committee shall then conduct a series of meetings and examinations and shall arrange for such demonstrations as are necessary to evaluate the achievements properly and make recommendations for action by the Board of Governors and the Board Awards Committee.
- The chair of each subcommittee group shall be one of the members of the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee and shall conduct its meetings and discussions.
- The committee may appoint surrogate groups for each technical classification in which there are achievements to be considered (“Areas of Focus”).
- Each surrogate group shall consider all achievements in its field. The surrogate groups shall evaluate those achievements and forward their conclusions to the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee in the form of a written report prepared by the respective surrogate group members.
- All voting by the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee shall be done by secret ballot. All decisions as to award recommendations and classifications shall require a two-thirds majority vote of those attending and not abstaining.
- The committee shall carefully evaluate all information regarding the actual authorship of each achievement being considered for an award and shall, at its sole discretion, identify the individual(s) and/or organization(s) to be recognized. The committee shall recommend to the Board of Governors and the Board Awards Committee the person(s) and/or organization(s) to whom an award shall be made, the classification of award and the text thereof.
- In recommending awards, the committee will judge to the best of its ability the scientific and technical merits of the achievements, but does not warrant that the person or persons who are named on the award were responsible for the origin or development of the entire achievement.
- Full claim for originality and development of each achievement must be established to the satisfaction of the committee. If any controversy should arise as to the origin or authorship of an achievement, the committee may request that the Board of Governors postpone action until proper credit is established.
- It shall be within the discretion of the committee to recommend that no awards be given.
- It shall be within the discretion of the committee to review any Academy Award conferred for scientific and technical achievement to determine subsequent to the granting of such award whether the classification of such achievement should be elevated by reason of its contribution to the motion picture arts and sciences, and to recommend elevation in classification to the Board of Governors and the Board Awards Committee.
- Recommendations to upgrade previously conferred Scientific and Technical Awards must originate with a proposal by a member of the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee, the Board of Governors, or the Board Awards Committee.
- Such other rules as may be considered necessary for the proper conduct of these awards shall be adopted by the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee, subject to the approval of the Board of Governors and the Board Awards Committee.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continues to honor science and technology professionals whose work in related industries has enabled motion picture production to advance in significant ways. Scientific and technical awards recognize original inventions and applications that result in expanded production capabilities, improved workflows, cost reductions, and other important benefits.
Any device, method, formula, discovery, or invention of special and outstanding value to the art and science of motion pictures can be considered for recognition. An invention repurposed from another industry cannot qualify for an award unless a vast proportion of its development was specific to motion pictures. The submission and evaluation processes have undergone careful refinement over the decades and are reviewed annually alongside the Awards Rules.
The Committee
Each year the Academy President appoints the chairs of the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee, and the chairs of its subcommittees, who are representatives of the motion picture and/or technical fields. The chairs additionally appoint members of the Committees, subject to the approval of the Academy President.
The Selection Process
In August, the Academy announces the scientific and technical investigation Areas of Focus that are under consideration by the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee. The list will be made public to allow those with similar devices (or claims of invention) within those particular areas the opportunity to submit achievements for awards consideration.
The Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee discusses the merits of each submission. Award worthiness is determined by considering if the technology meets the criteria outlined in the rules, if the technology is new to the industry or an improvement over an existing technology, and how widely the technology is being used.
If all the eligibility criteria are met, the applicant may be invited to make an informative presentation to the committee. If similar items are already available in the motion picture industry (but have not been submitted), their manufacturers also may be invited to participate. If an item cannot be properly presented in such a setting, a surrogate may be assigned to conduct an on-site or other evaluation. In other cases, subcommittees may be created to do more in-depth research. At the conclusion of their investigations, all surrogates and subcommittees present their findings to the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee.
Only substantially qualified submissions are selected for further investigation. If the committee decides that an item’s impact on the industry is not yet clear, the submission may be tabled for evaluation at a later date. If an initially rejected item subsequently sees significant improvement or advancement, it may be resubmitted in a future Awards year.
Written evaluations are compiled and distributed to all Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee members.
The committee then votes, item by item, to decide whether an award should be recommended and at what level of recognition. The committee’s recommendations are shared with the Academy’s Board Awards Committee for further review and recommendation and then the Academy's Board of Governors for final approval.
If you have any questions regarding the awards process, please contact the Scientific and Technical Awards office at scitech@oscars.org.
The Awards
Awards for scientific and technical achievement are given at three levels.
- A Technical Achievement Award recognizes achievements with an outstanding contribution to the progress of the motion picture arts and sciences. Honorees will receive plaques engraved with a description of the achievement and the name of each individual significantly involved in its development.
- A Scientific and Engineering Award recognizes an achievement that has exhibited a high level of engineering and is crucial to the progress of the motion picture arts and sciences. Honorees will receive a specially designed acrylic trophy with an encased small-scale Oscar statuette. Engraved on the base is a description of the achievement and the name of each contributor.
- An Academy Award of Merit® – an Oscar® statuette – recognizes an achievement that has had an extraordinary influence on the advancement of the motion picture arts and sciences. This award is generally reserved for achievements that have changed the course of filmmaking since their introduction. Gold plates are engraved with a description of the achievement and the name of each contributor and are affixed to the base of each statuette.
Records of past awards, arranged both chronologically and by category, are available at www.oscars.org/sci-tech/ceremonies.
Scientific and Technical Awards are presented at an annual ceremony. It is a stand-alone event – separate from the televised Oscars.
The event is recorded, and portions are edited and included on Oscars.org.
AWARDS DEFINITIONS
- Academy Awards for scientific and technical achievement shall be given by the Board of Governors upon recommendation from the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee and the Board Awards Committee. Awards may be given for devices, methods, formulas, discoveries, or inventions of special and outstanding value to the motion picture arts and sciences.
- Except in extraordinary circumstances, no awards shall be given posthumously. No awards shall be given where all recipients are deceased. No Academy Award of Merit may be given posthumously.
- To avoid conflicts of interest, individuals directly involved with any achievement under awards consideration must not participate in the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee and its surrogate groups. Further, members of the committee and its surrogate groups who have a personal connection with any achievement shall not be present during deliberation and shall abstain from voting on the achievement. Finally, individuals who work at the same organization as a potential award recipient but who are not associated with the achievement may participate but shall abstain from voting on the achievement.
- The Academy reserves the right to revoke award recognition in the event a conflict of interest not previously disclosed is discovered.
No sitting member of the Board of Governors shall be eligible – through direct application, application by proxy, discovery by committee, or by upgrade from a previous achievement – to be the sole recipient of the Technical Achievement Award, Scientific and Engineering Award, or the Academy Award of Merit for a Scientific and Technical achievement.
- In exceptional circumstances, a sitting member of the Board of Governors may be recognized alongside other contributors. The Academy will resolve all issues of eligibility.
- No current employee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences shall be – through direct application, application by proxy, discovery by committee, or by upgrade from a previous achievement – the recipient of the Technical Achievement Award, Scientific and Engineering Award, or the Academy Award of Merit for a Scientific and Technical achievement and shall remain ineligible for a period of three years after their employment has ended.
- Any projects, inventions, programs, or initiatives directly originated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are ineligible to receive a Scientific and Technical Award.
- Awards for scientific and technical achievement may be granted in any of the following three classifications:
For those achievements that have an extraordinary influence upon the advancement of the motion picture arts and sciences.
SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING AWARD
For those achievements that exhibit a high level of engineering and are crucial to the progress of the motion picture arts and sciences.
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
For those achievements with an outstanding contribution to the progress of the motion picture arts and sciences.
PROCEDURES
- An official public announcement will be made, and requests shall be sent to individuals and organizations engaged in scientific and technical developments for motion pictures, inviting them to submit any devices, methods, formulas, discoveries, or inventions for awards consideration. These achievements may be developed by the submitter or by any other organizations.
- The Academy President shall annually appoint two chairs of the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee who shall a serve a one-year term.
- After reviewing the initial submissions, the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee Chairs shall select members to serve on the Committee. Committee members must be members of the Academy, and these selections are subject to the approval of the Academy President. Committee members should be selected based on their professional and technical expertise and should be able to provide meaningful input regarding the submissions received. The committee will be dissolved upon the completion of the annual term. Committee members must be representatives of the motion picture and/or technical fields.
- A list of all areas of potential achievements (“Areas of Focus”) under consideration shall be widely publicized to permit anyone with claims of prior or relevant invention, or of achievements similar to those under consideration, to bring them to the attention of the committee.
a. A maximum of six Areas of Focus may be investigated per award year.
- In evaluating the submitted achievements, the committee shall strive to seek out other items similar to those being considered for awards. If such items are discovered, they may be considered on an equal basis.
- The committee shall then conduct a series of meetings and examinations and shall arrange for such demonstrations as are necessary to evaluate the achievements properly and make recommendations for action by the Board of Governors and the Board Awards Committee.
- The chair of each subcommittee group shall be one of the members of the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee and shall conduct its meetings and discussions.
- The committee may appoint surrogate groups for each technical classification in which there are achievements to be considered (“Areas of Focus”).
- Each surrogate group shall consider all achievements in its field. The surrogate groups shall evaluate those achievements and forward their conclusions to the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee in the form of a written report prepared by the respective surrogate group members.
- All voting by the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee shall be done by secret ballot. All decisions as to award recommendations and classifications shall require a two-thirds majority vote of those attending and not abstaining.
- The committee shall carefully evaluate all information regarding the actual authorship of each achievement being considered for an award and shall, at its sole discretion, identify the individual(s) and/or organization(s) to be recognized. The committee shall recommend to the Board of Governors and the Board Awards Committee the person(s) and/or organization(s) to whom an award shall be made, the classification of award and the text thereof.
- In recommending awards, the committee will judge to the best of its ability the scientific and technical merits of the achievements, but does not warrant that the person or persons who are named on the award were responsible for the origin or development of the entire achievement.
- Full claim for originality and development of each achievement must be established to the satisfaction of the committee. If any controversy should arise as to the origin or authorship of an achievement, the committee may request that the Board of Governors postpone action until proper credit is established.
- It shall be within the discretion of the committee to recommend that no awards be given.
- It shall be within the discretion of the committee to review any Academy Award conferred for scientific and technical achievement to determine subsequent to the granting of such award whether the classification of such achievement should be elevated by reason of its contribution to the motion picture arts and sciences, and to recommend elevation in classification to the Board of Governors and the Board Awards Committee.
- Recommendations to upgrade previously conferred Scientific and Technical Awards must originate with a proposal by a member of the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee, the Board of Governors, or the Board Awards Committee.
- Such other rules as may be considered necessary for the proper conduct of these awards shall be adopted by the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee, subject to the approval of the Board of Governors and the Board Awards Committee.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continues to honor science and technology professionals whose work in related industries has enabled motion picture production to advance in significant ways. Scientific and technical awards recognize original inventions and applications that result in expanded production capabilities, improved workflows, cost reductions, and other important benefits.
Any device, method, formula, discovery, or invention of special and outstanding value to the art and science of motion pictures can be considered for recognition. An invention repurposed from another industry cannot qualify for an award unless a vast proportion of its development was specific to motion pictures. The submission and evaluation processes have undergone careful refinement over the decades and are reviewed annually alongside the Awards Rules.
The Committee
Each year the Academy President appoints the chairs of the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee, and the chairs of its subcommittees, who are representatives of the motion picture and/or technical fields. The chairs additionally appoint members of the Committees, subject to the approval of the Academy President.
The Selection Process
In August, the Academy announces the scientific and technical investigation Areas of Focus that are under consideration by the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee. The list will be made public to allow those with similar devices (or claims of invention) within those particular areas the opportunity to submit achievements for awards consideration.
The Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee discusses the merits of each submission. Award worthiness is determined by considering if the technology meets the criteria outlined in the rules, if the technology is new to the industry or an improvement over an existing technology, and how widely the technology is being used.
If all the eligibility criteria are met, the applicant may be invited to make an informative presentation to the committee. If similar items are already available in the motion picture industry (but have not been submitted), their manufacturers also may be invited to participate. If an item cannot be properly presented in such a setting, a surrogate may be assigned to conduct an on-site or other evaluation. In other cases, subcommittees may be created to do more in-depth research. At the conclusion of their investigations, all surrogates and subcommittees present their findings to the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee.
Only substantially qualified submissions are selected for further investigation. If the committee decides that an item’s impact on the industry is not yet clear, the submission may be tabled for evaluation at a later date. If an initially rejected item subsequently sees significant improvement or advancement, it may be resubmitted in a future Awards year.
Written evaluations are compiled and distributed to all Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee members.
The committee then votes, item by item, to decide whether an award should be recommended and at what level of recognition. The committee’s recommendations are shared with the Academy’s Board Awards Committee for further review and recommendation and then the Academy's Board of Governors for final approval.
If you have any questions regarding the awards process, please contact the Scientific and Technical Awards office at scitech@oscars.org.
The Awards
Awards for scientific and technical achievement are given at three levels.
- A Technical Achievement Award recognizes achievements with an outstanding contribution to the progress of the motion picture arts and sciences. Honorees will receive plaques engraved with a description of the achievement and the name of each individual significantly involved in its development.
- A Scientific and Engineering Award recognizes an achievement that has exhibited a high level of engineering and is crucial to the progress of the motion picture arts and sciences. Honorees will receive a specially designed acrylic trophy with an encased small-scale Oscar statuette. Engraved on the base is a description of the achievement and the name of each contributor.
- An Academy Award of Merit® – an Oscar® statuette – recognizes an achievement that has had an extraordinary influence on the advancement of the motion picture arts and sciences. This award is generally reserved for achievements that have changed the course of filmmaking since their introduction. Gold plates are engraved with a description of the achievement and the name of each contributor and are affixed to the base of each statuette.
Records of past awards, arranged both chronologically and by category, are available at www.oscars.org/sci-tech/ceremonies.
Scientific and Technical Awards are presented at an annual ceremony. It is a stand-alone event – separate from the televised Oscars.
The event is recorded, and portions are edited and included on Oscars.org.