Best PhD Thesis Award

Launched in 2024, the Crystals Best PhD Thesis Award is to recognize young scholars for producing outstanding PhD theses in the field of crystalline materials, and to encourage the continuation of their outstanding work and further contribution to their field. The application process for this award is open from November to May every year and winners are announced in July.

The Prize:

– CHF 500;
– A certificate
– A voucher to waive the Article Processing Charges (APCs) for one submission in the journal (subject to peer review)— valid for one year.

Number of Winners: One

 
Crystals Best PhD Thesis Award
 
Application deadline: 31 May 2026
Winner announcement: 31 July 2026

Eligibility and Requirements

– The candidate must be a PhD student or recently qualified PhD who has produced an outstanding PhD thesis;
– The PhD thesis must be their original work;
– The PhD thesis must be defended in 2025.

Required Application Documents

– An executive summary of the PhD thesis in English of around 3000 words;
– A letter from the PhD supervisor recommending the candidate for consideration for this award;
– The candidate’s CV, including a list of publications connected with the thesis;
– An electronic copy of the PhD thesis;
– A scanned copy of the PhD diploma (or certificate of studying at a school or research institute as a PhD student going to graduate or participate in graduation thesis defenses).

 
Past Winners
 
Year: 

Winner

Yikun Zhu
State University of NewYork, University at Albany

Award Committee

Prof. Dr. Alessandra Toncelli Chairperson
University of Pisa, Italy
Prof. Dr. Bing Yu
Zhengzhou University, China
Prof. Dr. Zongyou Yin
Australian National University, Australia
Prof. Dr. Conrad Becker
Aix-Marseille University, France

Winner

Bowen Zheng
University of California, Berkeley

Award Committee

Dr. Alessandra Toncelli Chairperson
Prof. Antonio Feteira
SHU
Prof. Dr. Umberto Prisco
University of Napoli
Prof. Dr. Conrad Becker
Aix-Marseille Université
Dr. Yu-Sheng Chen
The University of Chicago
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