Best PhD Thesis Award

Launched in 2021, the Metals Best PhD Thesis Award aims to recognize young scholars for producing outstanding PhD theses in the field of metallurgy and metallurgical engineering, and to encourage the continuation of their outstanding work and further contribution to their field. Application for this award is open from December to July and winners are announced in September.

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: 1

 
Metals Best PhD Thesis Award
 
Application deadline: 31 July 2026
Winner announcement: 30 September 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.

List of Documents for Application

– 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

Tatiana Akhmetshina
ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Award Committee

Prof. Dr. Yong Zhang Chairperson
University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing
Dr. Abdollah Saboori
Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Prof. Dr. Belén Díaz Fernández
University of Vigo, Spain
Dr. John D. Clayton
DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, USA

Winner

Giulia Stornelli
Department of Engineering - University of Perugia. Via G. Duranti 93, 06125 Perugia (PG), Italy

Award Committee

Prof. Yong Zhang Chairperson
USTB
Prof. Evangelos Hristoforou
National TU of Athens
Dr. John D. Clayton
Prof. Dr. Matteo Pavese
Politecnico di Torino

Winner

XUFEI LU
CIMNE

Award Committee

Prof. Yong Zhang Chairperson
USTB
Prof. Victorino FRANCO
Sevilla University
Prof. Dr. Wei Zhou
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Prof. Ronald Armstrong

Winner

Navid Sohrabi
Thermomechanical Metallurgy Laboratory, PX Group Chair, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 2002 Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Award Committee

Prof. Eric D. van Hullebusch Chairperson
Institut de physique du globe de Paris
Dr. Belén Díaz
University of Vigo
Prof. Takayoshi Nakano
Osaka University
Prof. Yong Zhang
USTB
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