the award honors fischer black, a former general partner at goldman sachs and professor at the massachusetts institute of technology. among black's notable research accomplishments was the development (with myron scholes) of the black–scholes option pricing model. the awardee is chosen for having a body of research that embodies the fischer black hallmark of developing original research. in years where no such candidate meets the rigorous standards, as was the case in 2005, no award is presented.