Nottingham Prize

The Nottingham Prize was originally established in 1966 from contributions given in memory of Professor Wayne B. Nottingham of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by his many friends and associates. The prize, currently consisting of a certificate and $1,500, is awarded to the best student paper presented at the conference. This prize represents a seminal honor since many Nottingham winners have gone on to become leaders in the field of surface science. In addition, you and your advisor’s names are added to the Nottingham Wikipedia website.

Competing for the Nottingham Prize

A student abstract is based on a Ph.D. thesis whose date of submission is no earlier than one year before the meeting at which the Prize is given. In other words -- all students who are working on, but have not yet completed, their Ph.D. thesis work are eligible. In addition, you are also eligible to compete if you have completed your Ph.D. work but your thesis was submitted less than one year ago. In this case, your talk must be on your Ph.D. thesis work, not on work undertaken subsequently.

The committee requests that the authorship for the submitted abstract be only the student and their PhD advisor(s). The committee will select a set of finalists based on the Nottingham Prize competition packet and tentatively plan to inform all applicants of their status on or around May 15, 2022. The registration fee will be waived for those who are selected as finalists.

Special Option for International Students

If, due to travel restrictions, a student from outside North American wishes to participate, but cannot attend the meeting in-person, they may give their Nottingham talk remotely. This will be decided by the review committee.

All Nottingham contestants must complete and submit the registration form. They must also a Nottingham Prize competition package submitted as a single PDF file, including:

1. A regular one-page abstract submitted as a Word document for easy compilation. The competitor’s name should be marked with an asterisk (*), and the accompanying footnote should read, “Nottingham Contestant.” (Abstract Template)

2. A cover letter indicating your interest in the Nottingham Prize competition. Include in the letter expected thesis submission and graduation dates. This is a short letter.

3. A brief vita.

4. An extended abstract of approximately 1,500 words. (Extended Abstract Template)

These items should be sent as a single PDF email attachment to: PEC2022Chicago@gmail.com. The subject line of the email should start with “PEC2022 Nottingham.”

We will accept abstracts until 5:00pm PST Friday 15 April 2022 CDT Monday, 2 May 2022. Although the competition will be judged largely on the oral presentation, Nottingham Prize competition package is needed to provide additional information to the judges to select the finalists. Submission of a thesis or of a manuscript to be published is not acceptable. The committee will limit the number of competitors to those who can be accommodated in one day of presentations and timely submission is important.

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Previous Nottingham Prize Winners