As the famous inventor Dr. Emmett Brown once said, "Marty, I'm sorry, but the only power source capable of generating 1.21 gigawatts of electricity is a bolt of lightning." Students of history know what happened next: Doc and Marty figured out how to harness the energy of a lightning strike and sent Marty back to ... um, wherever he came from in the first place. The point is that there are obstacles to every great achievement, but true pioneers think of ways to overcome those obstacles.

The IT certification realm, like almost everything else in the wider information technology universe, changes continually. Some of that change is driven by technology itself, as certifications are constantly overhauled and updated to incorporate the latest IT advances. Some of the change occurring on every front, however, is driven by the creative energy of certification innovators who confront tough challenges and figure out ways of overcoming them, carrying on the legacy of next-level thinkers from decades past.

The IT Certification Council wants to shine a light on some of the forward thinkers whose bright ideas are making certification better. The ITCC, which has a mission to promote and popularize IT certification, inaugurated its annual Innovation Award last year, when Microsoft Learning's Larry Kaye was honored for his pioneering AppToCert program. Now that the calendar is winding down on 2015, the ITCC is looking for the next great certification innovation, as well as the beautiful mind that inspired it.

The next step is for IT professionals to think about someone they know who has done something in the past two years to make certification better, or more widely available, or more cost-effective, or anything else that helps IT certification stay on the leading edge of the technology revolution. That individual's achievement doesn't necessarily have to be groundbreaking. The ideal Innovation Award candidate is someone who has "created a testing product or service that has positively impacted a customer, test candidate experience, or company."

Further guidelines are available from at the ITCC Innovation Award home page, which also contains a form for submitting nominations. The submission protocol includes a mini-essay that provides specific details about the nominated innovation and innovator, so be prepared to spend a few minutes putting everything together. And don't procrastinate! Nominations will only be accepted until Dec. 11.