Optical Group Doctoral Thesis Prize

Eligibility

You are eligible for the 2023 prize if you:

• Successfully defended your doctoral thesis in a final examination between 1 January and 31 December 2023;
• Have a demonstrable link with the Institute of Physics Optical Group:
  • You are a member of the IOP and the Optical Group OR
  • You have presented your research at an Optical Group-sponsored meeting/conference OR
  • You have published optics related research in an IOP journal.

The subject of your thesis, or a significant part, should fall within the remit of the Optical Group.

Nominations/applications

Candidates may self-nominate or may be nominated by the doctoral supervisor or external doctoral committee member. The doctoral supervisor or an external doctoral committee member will be asked to provide a citation outlining why the candidate is recommended for the award.

Email the application to [email protected] by 5pm on Friday 30 August 2024. Please include the following:

• A cover letter outlining the main contribution of the thesis.
• A citation (maximum 500 words) to be submitted by either the candidate’s doctoral supervisor or by an external doctoral committee member. 
• The candidate’s list of publications.
• The contact details of the candidate’s thesis examiners.
• An electronic copy of the thesis in English. This may be a full translation.

Selection

Submissions will be judged by an expert panel prize sub-committee selected from the members of the Optical Group committee.  The prize sub-committee may seek additional references from the thesis examiners.

The assessment criteria are:

• The doctoral research conducted is pioneering and innovative.
• The doctoral research has made an impact within the relevant academic community, and/or has contributed to public debate from a scientific perspective.
• The extent to which the work in the thesis is driven by the candidate and has developed beyond that of their wider research group/environment. 
• The thesis is well written.

For any informal enquiries about the prize, please email [email protected].