The Gravitational Wave International Committee is pleased to announce that nominations for the 2014 GWIC Thesis Prize and for the 2014 Stefano Braccini Thesis Prize will soon be open. Both prizes recognize outstanding PhD theses in the area of gravitational waves. There will be a common call for nominations, and all theses submitted will be considered for both awards by a joint selection committee. Two winners will be selected, with the GWIC Thesis Prize emphasizing the impact of the research on the field of gravitational wave science, while the Braccini Thesis Prize will be awarded with an emphasis on innovation.
Members of the gravitational wave community are invited to nominate students who have performed notable research on any aspect of gravitational wave science. Theses will be judged on 1) originality and creativity of the research, 2) importance to the field of gravitational waves and gravitational wave detection, broadly interpreted, and 3) clarity of presentation. Each winner will receive a certificate of recognition and a prize of US$1,000.
GWIC is privileged to nominate both thesis prize winners for publication in the book series Springer Theses. Subject to certain qualifications, Springer Theses publishes exceptional Ph.D. theses in the physical sciences in their entirety. If accepted, each winner will receive an additional €500 from Springer upon publication.
Eligibility: Both prizes are award on a calendar year basis. Theses should have been accepted by their institutions between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2014. It is expected that many of the nominations will come from the member projects of GWIC, but this is not a requirement. Nominated theses may be in any language. A committee selected from the gravitational wave community will evaluate the nominations and select the winner. The selection committee will make all determinations about eligibility.
A second announcement with instructions about how to submit nominations will be issued at the beginning of December.