text: Thalberg Memorial Award (since 1938) (in the form of a bust of Thalberg); The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (since 1957) (in the form of an Oscar statuette); The Academy Scientific and Technical Awards: Academy Award of Merit (non-competitive) (in the form of an Oscar statuette); Scientific and Engineering Award (in the form of a bronze tablet); Technical Achievement Award (annual) (in the form of a certificate); The John A.Bonner Medal of Commendation (since 1978) (in the form of a medal); The Gordon E.Sawyer Award (since 1982); and The Academy Student Academy Awards (annual).The Academy also awards Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting.Nomination From 2004 to 2020, the Academy Award nomination results were announced to the public in mid-January.Prior to that, the results were announced in early February.In 2021, the nominees were announced in March.In 2022, the nominees were announced in early February for the first time since 2003.Voters The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), a professional honorary organization, maintains a voting membership of over 7,000 .Academy membership is divided into different branches, with each representing a different discipline in film production.Actors constitute the largest voting bloc, numbering 1,311 members (22 percent) of the Academy's composition.Votes have been certified by the auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (and its predecessor Price Waterhouse) since the 7th Academy Awards in 1935.The firm mails the ballots of eligible nominees to members of the Academy in December to reflect the previous eligible year with a due date sometime in January of the next year, then tabulates the votes in a process that takes thousands of hours.All AMPAS members must be invited to join by the Board of Governors, on behalf of Academy Branch Executive Committees.