This annually presented lectureship recognises early career researchers, typically within 12 years of attaining their PhD or equivalent degree, who have made significant contributions to the field of soft matter. Nominations open in the autumn, and the winner is announced in the spring.
The Lectureship recipient receives:
- £1,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs to attend and present at a leading international meeting
- an invitation to contribute an article to Soft Matter and to receive a complimentary cover for the issue in which the article appears
Our latest award winner 2022
Xuanhe Zhao
Xuanhe Zhao is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. The mission of Zhao Lab is to advance science and technology on the interfaces between humans and machines for addressing grand societal challenges in health and sustainability. A major focus of Zhao Lab's current research is the study and development of soft materials and systems.
Dr. Zhao is the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, ONR Young Investigator Award, SES Young Investigator Medal, ASME Hughes Young Investigator Award, Adhesion Society’s Young Scientist Award, Materials Today Rising Star Award, and Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher. Six patents from Zhao Lab have been licensed by established and startup companies and contributed to widely used medical devices such as hydrogel-elastomer tissue phantoms.
Read Xuanhe's work in Soft Matter as well as the articles from our previous lectureship winners
See all previous winners
Guidelines for nominators and candidates
Find out who is eligible for this award, about the nomination process and see who is on the selection panel.
Established in 2009, this international lectureship honours early-career scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of soft matter.
Open to all researchers throughout the world
The Soft Matter lectureship is open to all researchers throughout the world. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the Royal Society of Chemistry and researchers in academia or industry.
All career levels welcome
Nominators do not need to be senior researchers, and we encourage nominations from people at all career levels.
As part of the Royal Society of Chemistry, we believe we have a responsibility to promote inclusivity and accessibility in order to improve diversity. Where possible, we encourage each nominator to consider nominating candidates of all genders, races, and backgrounds. Please see the RSC's approach to Inclusion and Diversity.
Please note, current Soft Matter Editorial Board members and previous recipients of this lectureship will not be eligible for the current lectureship.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Soft Matter Lectureship, the candidate must:
- Be an independent researcher, PhD students postdoctoral research associates are not eligible
- Be actively pursuing research within the soft matter field, and have made a significant contribution to the field
- Be at an early stage of their independent career (this should typically be within 12 years of attaining their doctorate or equivalent degree, but appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break, work in systems where their time period to independence may vary or who followed an alternative study path)
Nominations must be made via email, and include the following:
- The name, affiliation, and contact details of the nominee, nominator, and referee
- An up-to-date CV of the nominee (1 – 3 A4 page maximum length)
- A letter of recommendation from the nominator (500 words maximum length)
A supporting letter of recommendation from a referee (500 words maximum length). This could be from the nominee’s postdoc, PhD supervisor, or academic mentor for instance - The nominator must confirm that to the best of their knowledge, their nominee’s professional standing is such that there is no confirmed or potential impediment to them receiving the Lectureship
- Please note that the nominee must be aware that they have been nominated for this lectureship
All eligible nominated candidates will be assessed by a judging panel made up of the Soft Matter Editorial Board. Any Editorial Board members with a conflict of interest will be ineligible for the judging panel.
The judging panel will consider the following core criteria:
- excellence in research, as evidenced in reference to originality and impact
- quality of publications, patents, or software
- innovation
- professional standing
- independence
- collaborations and teamwork
- evidence of promising potential
- other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominator
In any instance where multiple nominees are judged to be equally meritorious in relation to these core criteria, the judging panel will use the information provided on the nominee’s broader contribution to the chemistry community as an additional criterion. Examples of this could include:
- involvement with RSC community activities
- teaching or demonstrating
- effective mentorship
- service on boards
- committees or panels
- leadership in the scientific community
- peer-reviewing
- promotion of diversity and inclusion
- advocacy for chemistry
- public engagement and outreach
Previous winners
Current Winner: Xuanhe Zhao, MIT, USA
2021: Silvia Marchesan, University of Trieste, Italy
2020: Valeria Garbin, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
2019: Tim White, University of Colorado Boulder, USA
2018: Susan Perkin, University of Oxford, UK
2017: Daeyeon Lee, University of Pennsylvania, USA
2016: Damien Baigl, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
2015: Lucio Isa, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
2014: Eric Dufresne, Yale University, USA
2013: Eric Furst, University of Delaware, USA
2012: Patrick Doyle, MIT, USA
2011: Michael J. Solomon, University of Michigan, USA