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Limited Submission Internal Deadline: Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry
October 3, 2022 @ 5:00 pm
Limited Submissions: Internal Call for Nominations
Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists
in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry
UNC Internal Deadline: 11:59PM, Monday, October 3, 2022
The Blavatnik Family Foundation invites UNC-CH to provide nominations for the Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering, and Chemistry. UNC may nominate up to three candidates—one each in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering, and Chemistry. Below you will find the internal nomination procedure, award information, and eligibility requirements.
Key Dates
UNC Internal Deadline: 11:59PM, Monday, October 3, 2022
Blavatnik Nomination Deadline: November 9, 2022
Important Information
The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists strive for nominee equality and diversity, and strongly encourage the nomination of women and members of other historically underrepresented groups in science and engineering. In support of all scientists’ efforts to increase the diversity of their fields, and in recognition of the many professional service and outreach activities that scientists undertake, Blavatnik is requiring all nominees to submit a Professional Service and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement as part of their nomination materials. Details on this requirement can be found on the Nomination Materials and Instructions page.
The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists is focused on accomplishments during the independent career only. CVs must omit publications from the graduate and postdoctoral career, and recommendation letters must discuss the independent career only. Most finalists and laureates have held the rank of associate or full professor.
This is a laureate award to honor the accomplishments of young faculty. It does not provide funding for a project. Awards (three in total each year) are given to individuals, not institutions.
For more information on award finalists, laureates and evaluators, please see the lists of honorees and membership of the award’s Scientific Advisory Council.
To Apply
Submit the following via LAMSeS by 11:59PM, Monday, October 3, 2022.
- Nomination statement: indicating the nominee’s disciplinary category and subcategories (up to two) selected from the online list and a rationale for nomination pertaining to the nominee’s independent faculty career. This should detail the nominee’s strong record of significant independent scientific contributions, early career success, and promise of sustained or accelerated progress in the future. (200-word maximum).
- Nominee’s curriculum vitae. Please use the CV Format Example as a guide to the required elements. This program focuses on the independent faculty career. Please omit publications from graduate and postdoctoral career. Full text publications and patents need not be included in the internal nomination package; faculty can bold and provide hyperlinks to the publications and patents they wish to highlight in the CV.
- Nominee’s research summary: Describe up to five of the nominee’s most significant scientific contributions and research accomplishments from their independent career. Include key results, impact on the nominee’s field of study, and the nominee’s specific role in the described work (especially where the nominee is involved in large collaborations). Exclude information contained in the CV (1,000-word maximum).
- Up to four full-text Publications and/or Patents representing the nominee’s best work from their independent career. Links may be submitted for the internal application.
- A Professional Service and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement (1-page maximum). Details on this requirement can be found on the Nomination Materials and Instructions page.
- Names of three internal (to UNC) experts who could speak knowledgeably about the candidate’s research and potential as part of an internal review panel, in the event of an internal review.
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- Please do not include the names of faculty named on the project, chairs, deans, directors, direct reports or others who have a conflict of interest.
- Please notify all potential internal reviewers before submitting the nomination packet to ORD.
- Names of two letter writers familiar with nominee’s scientific contributions who will provide letters of support. Letters of support must discuss the independent career only. It is strongly advised that both Letters of Support be prepared by individuals external to the nominating institution and that have not previously served in the capacity of immediate advisor to the nominee.
Award Information
Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards: Now entering its tenth year, the Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists recognize and celebrate America’s most innovative and promising faculty-rank scientists and engineers. Each year, one nominee in each category is awarded $250,000 in unrestricted funding and honored at the Blavatnik National Awards ceremony in New York City as a Blavatnik National Awards Laureate. Additional nominees will be recognized as Finalists.
Program Description
The Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists recognize the United States’ most promising faculty-rank researchers in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry. One Blavatnik National Awards Laureate in each disciplinary category will receive $250,000 in unrestricted funds, and additional nominees will be recognized as Finalists.
Click the link to see the list of disciplinary subcategories: http://blavatnikawards.org/awards/national-awards/disciplines/
Eligibility
The nominee must:
- Have been born in or after 1981 (42 years of age or younger)
- Hold a doctorate degree (PhD, DPhil, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.).
- Currently hold a tenured or tenure-track academic faculty position (or equivalent) at an invited institution in the United States.
- Currently conduct research as a principal investigator in one of the disciplinary categories in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, or Chemistry.
Age Limit Exceptions
Age limit exceptions will be considered by the Blavatnik Family Foundation in exceptional circumstances upon a detailed written submission from the nominating institution received by the New York Academy of Sciences by Wednesday, October 26, 2022. For more information, please contact us at limited_submission@unc.edu as early as possible if you are interested and exceed the age limitation.
Returning Nominees
Non-winning nominees from prior Blavatnik Awards nomination cycles are eligible to be re-nominated by their institutions as one of their three nominees, provided they still meet all eligibility requirements.
Dual or Joint Appointments
For nominees holding a dual or joint appointment at more than one institution, the nominee must be employed by the nominating institution at least 50% full-time effort.
Review Criteria
Nominees and their work as independent investigators will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Quality: The extent to which the work is reliable, valid, credible, and scientifically rigorous.
- Impact: The extent to which the work addresses an important problem, advances scientific progress, and is influential in the nominee’s field, related fields, or beyond, and/or has the potential to benefit society.
- Novelty: The extent to which the work challenges existing paradigms, establishes a new field or considerably expands on an existing field, employs original methodologies or concepts, and/or pursues an original question.
- Promise: The nominee has potential for further significant contributions to science, and the research program will generate further impactful and novel discoveries.
Additional Information
Submissions: Institutional nominations must be submitted by the institution’s President (or equivalent), Provost, or their official designee. Self-nominations are not allowed.
Please refer to the Blavatnik National Awards Nomination Guidelines for full details on candidate eligibility and selection criteria.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Limited Submissions Team with questions at Limited_Submission@unc.edu.
Limited Submissions Team
Office of Research Development
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill