The Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists recognize the United States' most promising faculty-rank researchers in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemical Sciences. One Blavatnik National Awards Laureate in each disciplinary category will receive $250,000 in unrestricted funds, and additional nominees will be recognized as Finalists, and will receive $15,000 in unrestricted funds.
Please see our Important Dates page for key deadlines for the 2025 Blavatnik National Awards.
PROGRAM GUIDELINES
For a summary of nomination policies, please see the 2025 Blavatnik National Awards Nominations Flyer.
Eligibility
Main eligibility criteria
The nominee must:
- Have been born in or after 1983*.
- Hold a doctorate degree (PhD, DPhil, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.).
- Currently hold a tenured or tenure-track academic faculty position, or equivalent, at an invited institution in the United States.
- Currently conduct research as a principal investigator in one of the disciplinary categories in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, or Chemical Sciences.
Nomination of underrepresented populations in STEM
In spite of tremendous advancements in scientific research, information, and education, opportunities are still not equally available to all. Women, persons with disabilities, and individuals identifying as Black, American Indian, or Hispanic/Latinx continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields1,2.
The Blavatnik Awards strongly encourages all those submitting nominations to the Awards—including institutional nominators, Scientific Advisory Council members, and past Blavatnik Awards Laureates—to diversify the population of candidates nominated for this Award.
The Blavatnik Awards are proud to have honored 158 women scientists since the Awards’ inception in 2007—approximately 30% of all Blavatnik Awards recognize women. Blavatnik Awards honorees hail from 53 countries on six continents, and approximately 60% of all Blavatnik Awards honorees are immigrants to the country in which they were honored.
A more diverse scientific workforce will accelerate discovery and innovation, and the Blavatnik Awards are committed to honoring the most talented young scientists—regardless of race, ethnicity, disability status, gender, or field of study.
1Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/12984
2Pew Research Center, January 2018. “Women and Men in STEM Often at Odds Over Workplace Equity”
*Age Limit Exceptions
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 New York Academy of Sciences by November 13, 2024. For more information, please contact us at blavatnikawards@nyas.org. We strongly encourage institutions considering nominating candidates born prior to 1983 to contact us as early as possible during the nomination period.
Dual or Joint Appointments
For nominees holding 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.
Returning Nominees
Non-winning nominees from prior Blavatnik Awards nomination cycles are eligible to be re-nominated by their institutions as one of their three nominees, provided they still meet all eligibility requirements.
Re-Nomination of Past Finalists
Nominees previously recognized as Finalists of the Blavatnik National Awards are eligible for re-nomination by their institution for the 2025 Blavatnik National Awards, provided they meet the following requirements:
- Returning Finalists must still meet the eligibility requirements for the 2025 Blavatnik National Awards. For returning Finalists born prior to 1983, age limit exception requests must be submitted and approved by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, as described above.
- Nomination of returning Finalists must be pre-approved by The New York Academy of Sciences. A letter outlining the nominee’s significant new achievements since their latest recognition by the Blavatnik National Awards must be submitted, along with an updated CV as described on the Nomination Materials & Instructions page.
Please note that returning Finalists will now count towards an institution’s limit of three nominees.
All relevant materials listed above must be submitted to blavatnikawards@nyas.org by the institution’s official nominator by Wednesday, November 13, 2024, and must approved by The New York Academy of Sciences before submission of nomination materials.
We strongly encourage institutions considering nominating a returning Finalist to contact us as early as possible during the nomination period.
LIMITED SUBMISSION
Each institution may submit up to three nominations, one in each disciplinary category of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemical Sciences.
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 is covered by the Chemical Sciences section of the Blavatnik Awards. Nominating institutions seeking more guidance may contact the Academy at blavatnikawards@nyas.org.
Institutional nominations must be submitted by the institution’s official nominator—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; please see our Nomination Materials & Instructions page for further details.
Self-nominations are not allowed. Nominees do not submit their own nomination materials and should direct all questions to their institution. Please see our Invited Institutions page for a list of institutional contacts, or contact us at blavatnikawards@nyas.org.
Scientific Advisory Council and Past Laureate Nominations
Members of the Blavatnik National Awards Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) and previous Blavatnik National Awards Laureates may also submit nominations for the 2025 Blavatnik National Awards. These nominations do not count towards an institution’s limit of three nominees.
SAC Members and past Laureates may submit unlimited nominees, but may only nominate one candidate from any given institution.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
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 on 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.
BLAVATNIK NATIONAL AWARDS LAUREATE AND FINALIST RESPONSIBILITIES
2025 Blavatnik National Awards Laureates and Finalists are expected to:
- Attend the Blavatnik National Awards Ceremony in New York City in Early Fall 2025.
- Laureates are required to deliver a short presentation on their work. Blavatnik Awards staff will work closely with the Laureate to craft this presentation, which must be accessible to a general audience.
- Participate in Blavatnik National Awards related media activities and inquiries (e.g., video interviews, magazine profile interviews, eBriefings, etc.)
- Laureates have the option to prepare and submit an original article about their research to Annals of The New York Academy of Sciences within one year of receiving the Award.
- Respond to all requests and provide deliverables in a timely manner, to facilitate compliance with the above expectations.
Costs of round-trip travel to New York City for the Ceremony will be covered by the Blavatnik National Awards program.
The New York Academy of Sciences asks that nominees consider potential scheduling conflicts should they be selected as an honoree in advance of submitting their nomination materials. Awards-related media and publication activities are scheduled to begin prior to the Awards ceremony, when the Blavatnik National Awards Laureates and Finalists are notified of their status.
Questions
For general questions about the rules and eligibility requirements, please consult the Frequently Asked Questions page.
For all other inquiries, please contact the Blavatnik Awards team at blavatnikawards@nyas.org or 212.298.3742.