For the purposes of the award, innovation is defined as research into new areas of potential scientific importance, a novel approach to a long-standing problem in science or engineering or research that may create a new methodology of importance to science or engineering. In addition, application of expertise and insights from one area to advance another scientific discipline, or creative solutions to an important interdisciplinary problem also qualify as innovations. Awards are to be made no sooner than one year after the innovation has been reported in a peer- reviewed journal and research required for the basic functionality of the innovation completed.