The NSSA Prize for Outstanding Student Research
The next deadline for nominations will be in January 12, 2024 at 11:59 PM EST.
Please submit nominations through https://neutronscattering.org/nominations/.
Prize Selection Committee 2024
Chair:
Alan Tennant – University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Committee:
Ke An – Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Nayomi Plaza – Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture
Valeria Lauter – Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Elizabeth Kelley – NIST Center for Neutron Research
Details
This prize will be awarded every two years, at the American Conference on Neutron Scattering (ACNS).
A call for nominations will be made in advance of the ACNS meeting at which the prize will be presented, on a schedule consistent with that of the nominations for the other NSSA prizes. Nominations for this prize will be adjudicated by a selection committee set up by the NSSA executive. The selection committee will make the award on the basis of outstanding contributions to neutron science, with a significant portion of the relevant research carried out at a North American neutron scattering facility. The prize will consist of an appropriate certificate or plaque, $1000 in cash, and an invitation to give an oral presentation at the ACNS meeting at which the prize is awarded.
Nomination
The nomination would consist of one nominating and one supporting letter, a cv listing publications and relevant experience, and copies of up to three representative publications. Eligible candidates are either current PhD students or scientists within two years of receiving their PhD by the end of the appropriate ACNS meeting. The onus is on the nominator to show that the nominee qualifies for the prize.
We strongly encourage nominations of candidates from diverse backgrounds, including those from non- majority races, religions, gender identifications, sexual orientations, ages, disability statuses, and other identifiers.
Winners
2024: Dr. Evan Smith
For outstanding, rigorous, and comprehensive studies of frustration in magnetic materials using neutron scattering, leading to the elucidation of spin ice physics in cerium-based pyrochlores
2022: Dr. Sajna Hameed
For the elucidation of magnetism and plastic deformation effects in
perovskite titanates via neutron scattering and complementary techniques
2020: Mr. Johnny Ching-Wei Lee
For seminal neutron scattering experiments forming time-resolved structure-property-processing relations of polymeric materials.
2018: Dr. Alannah Hallas
For her exploration of new families of quantum pyrochlore magnets and elucidating their phase behavior and excitations using forefront neutron scattering techniques.
2016: Dr. P. Douglas Godfrin
For seminal neutron scattering studies of concentrated protein solutions and protein dynamics with application to biopharmaceutical engineering
2014: Dr. Kate A. Ross
For seminal neutron scattering studies of exotic ground states, ground state selection, and spin excitations in XY Pyrochlore Magnets
2012: Dr. Claire White
For pioneering a new methodology to elucidate accurate structural representations of complex materials by combining neutron diffraction and computational chemistry