This annually presented lectureship recognises early career researchers, typically within twelve years of attaining their PhD or equivalent degree, who have made significant contributions to the field of soft matter. Nominations open in the autumn, and the winner is announced in the summer.
The Lectureship recipient receives:
- £1,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs to attend and present at a leading international meeting
- an invitation to contribute an article to Soft Matter and to receive a complimentary cover for the issue in which the article appears
Our latest winner 2024
Sujit Datta
Sujit Datta is a Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biophysics at Caltech, where he moved in 2024 from Princeton University. He received a BA in Mathematics and Physics and an MS in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008. He then moved to Harvard, where he studied fluid dynamics and instabilities in soft and disordered media with Dave Weitz and obtained his PhD in Physics in 2013. Sujit’s postdoctoral training was in Chemical Engineering at Caltech, where he studied the biophysics of the gut with Rustem Ismagilov. He then started his faculty career at Princeton in 2017, and was promoted to Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies of Chemical & Biological Engineering in 2023. He also co-led the Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) on Living & Soft Matter of the Princeton Materials Research Science and Engineering Center from 2022-2024.
See all previous winners
Guidelines for nominators and candidates
Find out who is eligible for this award, about the nomination process and see who is on the selection panel.
Established in 2009, this international lectureship honours early-career scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of soft matter.
Open to all researchers throughout the world
The Soft Matter lectureship is open to all researchers throughout the world. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the 欧美AV and researchers in academia or industry.
All career levels welcome
Nominators do not need to be senior researchers, and we encourage nominations from people at all career levels.
As part of the 欧美AV, we believe we have a responsibility to promote inclusivity and accessibility in order to improve diversity. Where possible, we encourage each nominator to consider nominating candidates of all genders, races, and backgrounds. Please see the 欧美AV's approach to Inclusion and Diversity.
Please note, current Soft Matter Editorial Board members and previous recipients of this lectureship will not be eligible for the current lectureship.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Soft Matter Lectureship, the candidate must:
- Be an independent researcher, PhD students postdoctoral research associates are not eligible
- Be actively pursuing research within the soft matter field, and have made a significant contribution to the field
- Be at an early stage of their independent career (this should typically be within 12 years of attaining their doctorate or equivalent degree, but appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break, work in systems where their time period to independence may vary or who followed an alternative study path)
Nominations must be made via email, and include the following:
- The name, affiliation, and contact details of the nominee, nominator, and referee
- An up-to-date CV of the nominee (1 – 3 A4 page maximum length)
- A letter of recommendation from the nominator (500 words maximum length). The relationship between nominator and nominee should be stated in the letter
- A supporting letter of recommendation from a referee (500 words maximum length). This could be from the nominee’s academic mentor, PhD supervisor, or postdoc for instance. The relationship between referee and nominee should be stated in the letter. This could be from the nominee’s academic mentor, PhD supervisor, or postdoc for instance. The relationship between referee and nominee should be stated in the letter
- The nominator must confirm that to the best of their knowledge, their nominee’s professional standing is such that there is no confirmed or potential impediment to them receiving the Lectureship
- Please note that the nominee must be aware that they have been nominated for this lectureship
All eligible nominated candidates will be assessed by a judging panel made up of the Soft Matter Editorial Board. Any Editorial Board members with a conflict of interest will be ineligible for the judging panel.
The judging panel will consider the following core criteria:
- excellence in research, as evidenced in reference to originality and impact
- quality of publications, patents, or software
- innovation
- professional standing
- independence
- collaborations and teamwork
- evidence of promising potential
- other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominator
In any instance where multiple nominees are judged to be equally meritorious in relation to these core criteria, the judging panel will use the information provided on the nominee’s broader contribution to the chemistry community as an additional criterion. Examples of this could include:
- involvement with 欧美AV community activities
- teaching or demonstrating
- effective mentorship
- service on boards
- committees or panels
- leadership in the scientific community
- peer-reviewing
- promotion of diversity and inclusion
- advocacy for chemistry
- public engagement and outreach
Previous winners
2023: (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA) and (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)
2022:
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