WASHINGTON, July 13, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Project Management Institute (PMI), the world's leading professional membership organization for project managers, has honored five individuals for their contributions to project management and education. The awards recognize those who have significantly advanced the concepts, knowledge, and practice of project management while showcasing the critical roles that research and education play in the professionalization of project management and its positive impact on business results.

The following awards were presented at the PMI(R) Research and Education Conference 2010.

The 2010 PMI Research Achievement Award

PMI presented the 2010 PMI Research Achievement Award to Professor Janice Lynne Thomas, Ph.D., M.B.A., for her exploration of organizational change, team building, and leadership in project management. Her body of research and work provides crucial insight into communication and the understanding of how the practice of project management in organizations can be improved.

Dr. Thomas has led a number of PMI-sponsored research projects as well as U.K. government-funded work. Prior to becoming an academic, she spent 10 years as a project manager in the fields of Information Technology and Organizational Change. She is currently a Professor of Project Management and Director of the Project Management Research Institute in the Faculty of Business at Athabasca University, Canada.

This award recognizes and honors an individual who has significantly advanced the concepts, knowledge, and/or practices of project management through professionally conducted and authored project management research.

The 2010 Project Management Journal(R) Paper of the Year Award

PMI's 2010 Project Management Journal(R) Paper of the Year Award was presented to Terence J. Cooke-Davies, Ph.D., Lynn H. Crawford, DBA, MTCP, and Thomas G. Lechler, Ph.D. for their article Project Management Systems: Moving Project Management From an Operational to a Strategic Discipline. The article was published in the March 2009 issue of Project Management Journal.

Project Management Systems: Moving Project Management from an Operational to a Strategic Discipline illustrates an aspect of the concept of fit between an organization's Implementation of project management and its organizational context. It explores how the underlying drivers of an organization's strategy influence the nature of its projects and the appropriateness of its project management measures.

This award is recognizes the paper that made a significant contribution to project management knowledge and was published in Project Management Journal(R) by PMI and Wiley in the previous year.

2010 Student Poster Award

Jefferson Leandro Anselmo, Ph.D., M.Sc., PMP(R) is the winner of PMI's 2010 Student Poster Award for his submission, Project Management In Project-Based Businesses: An Integrated Proposal for the Management of the Operational, Organizational and Strategic Dimensions.

Dr. Anselmo holds his B.S., M.Sc., and Ph.D. from the University of San Paulo, Brazil, as well as an M.B.A. from Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Brazil. A published author on the subject of project and general management, he is a project manager and member of the corporate project management office at PromonLogicalis, a Brazilian systems integrator.

This award recognizes the best research presented by a student in poster format at the 2010 Research and Education Conference. Student poster sessions at the Conference provide students the opportunity to present their research findings and speak with peers and seasoned researchers in the profession.

About the PMI Research and Education Conference 2010

The PMI(R) Research and Education Conference 2010 brings together an audience of scholars, senior practitioners and students of project management and allied disciplines. It provides the opportunity for attendees to present and discuss new project management research findings and teaching methods. The 2010 conference featured over 75 paper presentations, symposia and poster sessions that cover various topics in project management research and education.

About Project Management Institute (PMI)

The world's leading professional membership organization for project managers, PMI shares knowledge with more than one half million members and credential holders in over 180 countries. Since 1969, PMI has impacted more than one million practitioners, businesses, governments, students and training organizations. Today, PMI's products and services range from world-class standards for project, program and portfolio management to five professional credentials, including the gold standard Project Management Professional (PMP)(R). PMI's exclusive Global Executive Council engages large multinationals and government organizations in endorsing the value of project management. The only project management association with an established academic research program, PMI has invested more than US$14 million in support of dozens of research projects since 1997. Learn more at PMI.org.

SOURCE: Project Management Institute

CONTACT: Glenn R. Boyet, PMI, +1-610-356-4600 x1112, Glenn.Boyet@pmi.org;or Megan Maguire Kelly, PMI, +1-610-356-4600 x7030, Megan.Kelly@pmi.org