Dissertation Award in Nuclear Physics

This award recognizes doctoral thesis research of outstanding quality and achievement in nuclear physics. The annual award consists of $2,500, a certificate, travel reimbursement, and a registration waiver to receive the award and give an invited talk at the Fall Meeting of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics.

Establishment & Support

This award was endowed in 1985 by members and friends of the Division of Nuclear Physics. It was given bi-annually until becoming an annual award in 1999.

Rules & Eligibility

Nominations are open to any person who has received a Ph. D. degree in experimental or theoretical nuclear physics from a North American university within the two-year period preceding the current nomination deadline.

Nomination & Selection Process

Deadline: Monday, June 3, 2024

Nominations should include:

  1. APS Prizes and Awards nomination form (nominee’s contact information, thesis date)
  2. A letter of support from the nominee's Ph.D. thesis advisor
  3. Two additional letters of support
  4. A copy of the proposed candidate's thesis

If a candidate is not selected, they may be renominated for this award provided all other eligibility criteria are still met. In this case a new nomination package must be submitted.

To start a new or update a continuing nomination, please see the Prize & Award Nomination Guidelines.

2024 Selection Committee Members: Haiyan Gao (Chair), Michael Kohl, Timothy Chupp, Matthew Green, Zhongbo Kang, and Senta Greene

The membership of APS is diverse and global, and the nominees and recipients of APS Honors should reflect that diversity so that all are recognized for their impact on our community. Nominations of members belonging to groups traditionally underrepresented in physics, such as women, LGBT+ scientists, scientists who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), disabled scientists, scientists from institutions with limited resources, and scientists from outside the United States, are especially encouraged.

Nominees for and holders of APS Honors (prizes, awards, and fellowship) and official leadership positions are expected to meet standards of professional conduct and integrity as described in the APS Ethics Guidelines. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.

2024 Recipients

Evan Rule
University of California, Berkeley

Matthew Ramin Hamedani Heffernan
McGill University



Past Recipients

2023: Agnieszka Sorensen
          Aobo Li
2022: Erika M. Holmbeck
2021: Jordan Melendez
2020: Isaac Upsal
          Shirley Li
2019: Grayson Rich
2018: Kyle W Brown
          Matthew Elias Caplan
2017: Jonathan Loren Ouellet
2016: Chun Shen
2015: Michael P. Mendenhall
2014: Katherine Myers
2013: Gang Shen
2012: Emanuele Mereghetti
          Phillip S. Barbeau
2011: Huichao Song
          Matthew W. Luzum
2010: Calem R. Hoffman
2009: Steven M. Clayton
          Thomas I. Banks
2008: Deepshikha Choudhury
          Nikolai Tolich
2007: Kathryn K.S. Miknaitis
          Magdalena Djordjevic
2006: Li-Bang Wang
2005: Andriy Kurylov
2004: Andrew W. Steiner
2003: Karsten Heeger
2002: Jiunn-Wei Chen
2001: Daniel Bardayan
2000: John Arrington
1999: Eric Hawker
1998: Yury G. Kolomensky
1996: Gregory Joseph Schmid
1994: Zhiping Zhao
1992: James Edward Koster
1990: Michael J. Musolf
1988: Thomas E. Cowan
1986: Brad Sherrill
          W. J. Burger