Minneapolis hedge fund Whitebox Advisors is taking nominations for research papers published in 2011 "making outstanding contributions to the art and science of investment."

Author(s) of the winning paper will be awarded $25,000.

Whitebox, which has about $2.7 billion under management, recently launched a research portal,Whitebox Selected Research, that features papers about finance and investment "not because we feel obliged to note their existence but because they interested us, sparked something like an idea in us, and we hope they will do the same for you."

In a letter inviting nominations, Richard Vigilante, Whitebox' director of research, said:

The letter, which includes guidelines and procedures, is being mailed today. Vigilante says it will be on the company's website soon.

The letter is now on the company's website. You can find it here.