VOLKER HEINE EARLY-CAREER INVESTIGATOR AWARD

1. Applicants may be of any nationality working anywhere in the world.

2. The PhD certificate of the early career investigator must be dated not prior to 14 March 2022. Those who have not yet completed a PhD can also apply.

3. The eligibility period set out in point (2) can be extended for certain, properly documented, circumstances (including parental leave), following Annex 1 below.

The following documents, merged as a single PDF file (max size 10 MB), must be uploaded (see link "VHECI candidate file" below) by 15 July 9th September 2026 (23:59 CET):

• The name and contact details of the person submitting the application, and the name and contact details of the early career investigator candidate (these can be the same in case of self nomination).

• A summary (including title and a text of maximum 150 words). In the case of self nomination, and if successful, this will be the abstract for the DPG Conference VHECI Symposium.

• A description of up to two pages making the case for the importance of the scientific contribution, including up to five hyperlinks to the relevant publications or websites.

• An extended CV (including list of publications and talks and posters), up to a maximum of four pages, reflecting the status as of the original deadline for applications of 15 July.

• Evidence of satisfying requirement (2) above (e.g., copy of PhD certificate).

• Supporting evidence for any requested extension of the eligibility period set out in requirement (3) above.

In addition, up to two confidential support letters should be submitted directly (not by the candidate themself) to the separate link labelled "VHECI support letters" below.

One of the letters should contain a statement assessing the contribution of the candidate to the work presented in their application, compared to that of other coworkers. One of the letters (can be the same) should also contain a statement that certifies that the candidate meets requirement (2) above. These letters must be received by 29 July 9th September 2026 (23:59 CET) and must include full contact details and position of the supporting person.

Letter writers are invited, where relevant, to contextualise the candidate’s achievements in light of any documented eligibility extensions (e.g. parental leave, illness, disability, major disasters, asylum, or gender based or other violence). Such extensions are fully accepted and should not be viewed as disadvantages. 

The VHECI award will have a shortlisting panel of Psi-k members appointed by the Board of Trustees. The panel will select up to five finalists who will be invited to present their work at a special award symposium at the DPG Spring Meeting in Regensburg, 14-18 March 2027. An award panel of Psi-k members appointed by the Board of Trustees will select the winner following the symposium, when the winner and finalists will be awarded their prizes and certificates.

For general queries about eligibility etc., please contact the VHECI Panel Chair Patrick Rinke.

For technical questions regarding file upload etc, please contact the Psi-k Chair Arash Mostofi.

List of finalists (winners in bold):

2025   Antonios Alvertis, Venkat Kapil, Jon Lafuente-Bartolomé, Michele Simoncelli, Victor Yu

2021   Bingqing Cheng, Johannes Flick, Federico Grasselli, Lionel Lacombe, Tianyu Zhu

2018   Jan Gerit Brandenburg, Viktor Ivády, Yaroslav Kvashnin, Reinhard Maurer, Bartomeu Monserrat

2015   Marco Bernardi, Andreas Grüneis, Fabio Caruso, Ion Errea, Johanna Fuks

2013   Xavier Andrade, Michele Ceriotti, Nicholas D.M. Hine, Cheol-Hwan Park, Tim Wehling

2010   Claudio Attaccalite, Christoph Freysoldt, Matteo Gatti, Samir Lounis, Alexandre Tkatchenko

The eligibility periods set out in the call can be extended for certain, properly documented, circumstances [1], for which we broadly adopt the approach of the European Research Council Work Programme 2026:

• Maternity: 18 months extension for each child born before or after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree. If an applicant can document a longer total maternity leave, the eligibility period will be extended by the docu-mented amount of actual leave(s) for all children taken before the call deadline.

• Paternity: extension by the documented time of paternity leave taken before the call deadline for each child born before or after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.

• Long-term illness [2] or national service: extension by the documented amount of leave taken by an applicant before the call deadline for each incident, which occurred after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.

• Disability [3]: Extension corresponding to the reduced amount of working time (including leave taken) and/or the degree of disability as documented by an applicant, before the call deadline, and which occurred after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.

• Clinical training: extension by the documented amount of clinical training received by an applicant after the reference date of the first eligible degree and be-fore the call deadline, up to a maximum of 4 years.

• Major disasters [4]: extension by the documented time of an applicant’s inability to work [5] before the call deadline due to a major disaster, which occurred after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.

• Seeking asylum: extension by the documented time of an applicant’s inability to work before the call deadline due to seeking asylum [6], which occurred after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.  

• Violence: extension by the documented time of an applicant’s inability to work due to being a victim of violence [7].

[1] For applicants whose first eligible degree is their medical degree such incidents can be considered from the date of completion of their medical degree. [2] Over 90 days for the applicant or a close family member (child, spouse, parent or sibling). [3] Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)). [4] Major disasters include large-scale geological (e.g., earthquakes), meteorological (e.g., floods) or human-caused (e.g., armed conflicts) events that cause loss of life or property. [5] For a minimum of 90 days. [6] The possible period of extension runs from the start date of asylum/refugee application to the date of decision on the applicant’s refugee status and/or receipt of specific residence permit. [7] Any action with the intention to cause physical or psychological harm to another person.