US National Awards: Frequently Asked Questions
Since 2007, the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists have been open to scientists in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Beginning in the 2014 awards cycle, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences expanded the faculty awards to include young scientists across the US. The Blavatnik National Awards recognize excellence in three disciplinary categories: Life Sciences; Physical Sciences & Engineering; and Chemical Sciences. Every year, one Blavatnik National Awards Laureate in each category will receive $250,000 in unrestricted funds. The prize money is given directly to the Laureate. Additional nominees are recognized as Finalists, five per category, and each will receive $15,000 in unrestricted funds.
2. What are the differences between the Blavatnik National Awards and the Blavatnik Regional Awards?
The Blavatnik National Awards are open to US-based, faculty-rank scientists 42 years of age and younger, and each year award $250,000 in unrestricted funds to one Blavatnik National Awards Laureate and $15,000 in unrestricted funds to five Finalists in each of the three disciplinary categories recognized by the Blavatnik Awards (Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemical Sciences).
The Blavatnik Regional Awards are open only to postdoctoral-rank scientists 42 years of age and younger from institutions in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Each year, one nominee in each disciplinary category is recognized as a Blavatnik Regional Awards Winner, and receives $30,000 in unrestricted funds. Additionally, two nominees in each category are recognized as Finalists, and receive $10,000 each in unrestricted funds.
One Blavatnik National Awards Laureate in each disciplinary category will receive $250,000 in unrestricted funds. Five Blavatnik National Finalists in each disciplinary category will receive $15,000 in unrestricted finds. The prize money is given directly to the Laureate or Finalist. Indirect costs are not applied to the award.
Yes. Applicable U.S. tax laws require any payments made under this program to be subject to federal income tax. U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations require that the Academy has a completed Form W-9 on file for all Award recipients prior to the distribution of the Award. Further details regarding the secure submission of this information to the Academy will be provided to Awardees at the time of Award notification. Award recipients will receive a 1099-MISC Form that reports your Award payment as Miscellaneous Income to the IRS. Award recipients should consult with their U.S. tax advisor regarding any tax questions.
5. What are the evaluation criteria for the Blavatnik National Awards?
Nominees and their work as independent investigators will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Quality – The extent to which the work is reliable, valid, credible, and scientifically rigorous.
Impact – The extent to which the work addresses an important problem, advances scientific progress, and is influential in the nominee’s field, related fields, or beyond, and/or has the potential to benefit society.
Novelty – The extent to which the work challenges existing paradigms, establishes a new field or considerably expands an existing field, employs original methodologies or concepts, and/or pursues an original question.
Promise – The nominee has potential for further significant contributions to science, and the research program will generate further impactful and novel discoveries.
6. Which institutions may submit nominations for the Blavatnik National Awards?
Over 300 U.S.-based institutions are invited to submit nominations. They include degree-granting universities, private research institutes, academic medical centers, and national government laboratories. If your institution does not appear on our list and would like to nominate, please submit a brief statement of interest to blavatnikawards@nyas.org.
7. How many nominations may an institution submit each year?
Each institution may submit up to three nominations per year, one for each of the three disciplinary categories. Any Returning Finalists an institution chooses to re-nominate will count towards the limit of three nominations. For more details regarding re-nomination of Returning Finalists, please review the Nomination Guidelines page.
Nominating institutions are encouraged to consider candidates across the institution, focusing on the scope of the candidate’s work and its relevance within a given scientific category. For example, an institution can nominate a Chemical Sciences nominee who is not based in the Chemistry Department, but is leading a research program in one of the disciplinary categories covered by the Chemical Sciences section of the Blavatnik Awards. Nominating institutions seeking more guidance may contact the Academy at blavatnikawards@nyas.org.
The Blavatnik Awards strongly encourage the nomination of women and other underrepresented groups in science and engineering (e.g. Black, American Indian, Hispanic/Latinx).
Prospective nominees must be conducting research at one of the invited U.S. institutions. There are no residency or citizenship requirements to be nominated for the Blavatnik National Awards. For more information on nominee eligibility, Age-Limit Exception Requests, and Re-nomination of Past Finalists, please see the Nomination Guidelines page for more detailed information on eligibility.
Pre-2014 faculty-level Winners of the Blavatnik Regional Awards are not eligible. Post-2014 Winners and Finalists of the Blavatnik Regional Awards are eligible for the Blavatnik National Awards.
If you have any questions or need more information, please contact us at blavatnikawards@nyas.org.
9. What is the nomination procedure for the Blavatnik National Awards?
Institutional nominations must be submitted by the institution’s President, Provost, Director, or equivalent (or their official designee). The Blavatnik Awards team must be informed of the identity of an institution’s official nominator. Newly-invited institutions, or institutions whose designated nominator has changed since the previous awards cycle, must send a brief statement to blavatnikawards@nyas.org naming their official designee as nominator before submitting nominations.
The nominator fills out the nomination form, uploads all required materials, and provides the names of two letter writers. The letter writers then receive emails with instructions on uploading their letters. For more details, please refer to the Nomination Guidelines page.
If an institution is re-nominating a candidate from past years, a new submission must be created using the online system.
10. Where can the nominations for the Blavatnik National Awards be submitted?
The online nomination system may be accessed on the Nomination Guidelines page during the nomination period.
11. What are the important deadlines for the Blavatnik National Awards?
Please see our Important Dates page for key deadlines for the current Blavatnik National Awards cycle.
12. What materials are required to submit a nomination for the Blavatnik National Awards?
The nomination package for the Blavatnik National Awards contains the following documents:
- Nomination Form
- Rationale for Nomination
- Curriculum Vitae
- Research Summary
- Professional Service and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
- Full-text Publications and/or Patents
- Letters of Recommendation
Full details and requirements for all nomination materials are provided on our Nomination Materials & Information page.
13. Is the nomination complete after the nomination form is submitted?
Once the nominator submits the nomination form, two letters of support are still necessary to complete the nomination. Letter writers will receive automatic emails with instructions on uploading their letters. The nomination is complete once both letters have been uploaded. Nominators may view the status of the letters of support by logging into their account. Please reference the Important Dates page to view the Nomination deadline.
We recommend that nominees petition Letters of Support from individuals who are experts in the nominee’s discipline, field, or sub-field and who are intimately familiar with the nominee’s most significant and important research contributions during their independent career.
Further, it is strongly advised that both Letters of Support be prepared by individuals external to the nominating institution and that have not previously served in the capacity of immediate advisor to the nominee.
15. What information should be included in a letter of support?
Letters of support should:
Be a maximum of two pages, single-spaced, and uploaded as PDF files.
Indicate how the letter writer has become acquainted with nominee and their work / research.
Describe the nominee’s most significant research contributions and explain their importance for the nominee’s research area. If applicable, describe the nominee’s role in any large collaborations.
Assess the nominee’s accomplishments in comparison with those of his or her peers at the same career stage.
Focus on the nominee’s scientific accomplishments during his/her independent career and omit the details of the graduate and postdoctoral work or information typically included in the CV, such as positions and awards.
The nominator enters the names and email addresses into the nomination form, which triggers automatic emails to be sent to the letter writers with instructions on how to upload their letters. Letter writers are responsible for submitting letters online before the letters of support deadline closes. Reference the Important Dates page to view the letters of support deadline.
17. How will a nominee know if letters of support have been received?
Once both letters have been uploaded, the nominator and the nominee will receive automated notifications.
Letters of Support are confidential—neither the nominator nor the nominee will be able to view the contents of the letters.
Nominators may view the status of the letters of support by logging into their account.
18. Will any evaluation information or feedback be made available to the nominee or their institution?
No. All evaluations are kept confidential and no feedback will be provided.
19. When will Blavatnik National Awards Laureates and their institutions be notified?
Nominees and their institutions will be notified of the final status of their nominations in Early Fall of the awards cycle. Please see the Important Dates page for more information.
Please contact the Blavatnik Awards staff at blavatnikawards@nyas.org or 212.298.8630 during regular business hours: Monday – Friday between 9:00AM and 5:00PM ET.
Prospective nominees looking for information on their institution’s internal selection process are encouraged to contact their Institutional Contact listed in our Invited Institutions.