United Kingdom Awards: Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom?
Since 2007, the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists have been open to scientists in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. In 2014, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences expanded the faculty awards to include young scientists across the US, and in the UK and in Israel in 2018.
The Blavatnik Awards in the UK recognize excellence in three disciplinary categories: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemical Sciences. Every year, one Blavatnik Laureate in each category will receive £100,000 in unrestricted funds, with two Finalists receiving £30,000 each. The prize money is given directly to the awardees.
2. Are UK faculty members eligible for nomination for the US National Awards?
The UK and US National Awards are independent competitions, with separate eligibility requirements for each. Nominees must be active researchers at institutions eligible to nominate them in the country of the appropriate awards program.
One Blavatnik UK Laureate in each disciplinary category will receive £100,000 in unrestricted funds, with two Blavatnik UK finalists receiving £30,000 each. The prize money is given directly to the awardees. Indirect costs are not applied to the award.
Applicable US tax laws require any Award payments under this program to be subject to 30% federal tax withholding on the payment. Upon distribution of the Award, we will withhold 30% of the Award amount and distribute the net proceeds to the recipient. The amount we have withheld will be remitted to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A reduced withholding rate may be available to recipients under an applicable income tax treaty between the US and the United Kingdom.
Award recipients should consult with their US tax advisor to determine their eligibility for reduced withholding benefits under an applicable income tax treaty between the US and the United Kingdom. Award recipients must provide the Academy with a fully completed Form W-8BEN to claim a reduced withholding rate under an applicable income tax treaty. Further details regarding the secure submission of this information to the Academy will be provided to Awardees at the time of Award notification.
5. What are the evaluation criteria for the Blavatnik Awards in the United Kingdom?
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, 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 on an existing field, employs new methodologies or concepts, and/or pursues an original question.
Promise: The nominee has the 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 Awards in the United Kingdom?
Please see our list of eligible institutions in the UK.
If your institution does not appear on our list and would like to nominate, please submit a brief statement of interest to BlavatnikAwardsUK@nyas.org.
Each institution may submit up to three nominations per year, one for each of the three disciplinary categories.
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.
8. Who is eligible for the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom?
Prospective nominees must be conducting research at one of the eligible institutions as principal investigators and in charge of their own research program, hold a doctoral degree, and be born in or after 1983. There are no residency or citizenship requirements to be nominated for the Blavatnik Awards in the UK.
Age limit exceptions will be considered by the Blavatnik Family Foundation in exceptional circumstances upon a detailed written submission from the nominating institution received by the Academy at BlavatnikAwardsUK@nyas.org. Reference the Important Dates page to view the exception deadline.
All nominees must meet the general eligibility requirements, including holding a faculty position at an eligible institution. A “faculty position” is defined as an academic research position equivalent to Lecturer or above, i.e. already promoted to or with potential to be promoted to a full academic professorship. Holding a fellowship does not disqualify from nomination, provided that an academic position as defined above is also held, or a proleptic lectureship is offered by their institution, but the fellowship alone is not sufficient. Those with predominantly teaching roles (e.g. Senior Teaching Fellows) are not eligible. To hold a professorship is considered a significant achievement and academics already holding such a position are eligible. If you have any questions regarding eligibility, please contact the Blavatnik Awards UK team at BlavatnikAwardsUK@nyas.org.
10. Are researchers currently employed at multiple institutions eligible for nomination?
For nominees that hold a dual or joint appointment at more than one institution, the nominee must be employed by the nominating institution at least 50% full-time effort.
Self-nominations are not allowed. All nominations must be submitted by the institutional nominator. If you are a potential nominee who would like to be considered, please direct questions to your institutional nominator in the first instance. If you do not know who this is, please contact us at BlavatnikAwardsUK@nyas.org.
Institutional nominations must be submitted online by the Vice-Chancellor, President (or equivalent), Pro-Vice Chancellor, or the official designee of the nominee’s host institution. There should be one officially-designated nominator per institution, and this individual should submit all of the institution’s nominations. Institutions must inform the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists of the name of the official nominator by sending an email to BlavatnikAwardsUK@nyas.org before submitting nominations.
The nominators must fill out the nomination form, upload all required materials, and provide 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.
12. Where can the nominations for the Blavatnik Awards in the United Kingdom be submitted?
Nominations can be submitted through the online nomination system during the nomination period.
13. What materials are required to submit a nomination for the Blavatnik Awards in the United Kingdom?
The nomination package for the Blavatnik 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.
14. 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.
16. 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.
18. How will a nominee know if letters of support have been received?
Once both letters of support have been submitted, the nominator and 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.
19. 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.
The Laureates, Finalists, and their institutions will be notified at the end of the year.
Please contact the Blavatnik Awards staff at BlavatnikAwardsUK@nyas.org or +1 856.399.2700 during regular business hours East Coast US time: Monday – Friday between 9:00AM and 5:00PM ET.