The Gravitational Wave International Committee and the Friends of Stefano Braccini are pleased to announce the yearly prize recognising an outstanding Ph.D. thesis in the field of gravitational waves, the GWIC-Braccini Thesis Prize. Nominations for the 2025 GWIC-Braccini Thesis Prize are now open.
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 (i) originality and creativity of the research, (ii) importance to the field of gravitational waves and gravitational-wave detection, broadly interpreted, and (iii) clarity of presentation. The winner will receive a certificate of recognition and a prize of US $1,000. The 2025 prize will be awarded at an international meeting in summer 2026.
In this cycle, the prize will be awarded on a calendar year basis for 2025. Theses should have been accepted by the relevant institution between January 1, 2025 and 31 December 31, 2025. 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.
Nominations should be submitted by February 28, 2026. The nomination package consists of (i) the thesis, (ii) a letter of nomination from the thesis advisor, (iii) a supporting letter from another scientist familiar with the work, and (iv) a single-page abstract of the thesis written by the nominee. The nomination and supporting letters should describe the importance and novelty of the research and the student’s particular contribution. Because the large number of submissions imposes a significant burden on the jury, we request that each advisor submit a single nomination, and that they consider whether the thesis is indeed internationally competitive.
Electronic submissions are strongly preferred, with the thesis, abstract and the letters in separate pdf files (four files in total). Electronic copies of the nomination materials should be sent to gwic-braccini-prize@phys.ethz.ch. Please provide also a contact email address and the current institution of the nominee in the nomination letter. All submissions will be acknowledged once complete; if such an acknowledgement is not received, or for any other question, please contact gwic-braccini-prize[AT]phys.ethz.ch.
Michele Vallisneri (GWIC-Braccini Thesis Prize Director)