IUPAC—Solvay International Award for Young Chemists

The IUPAC-SOLVAY International Award for Young Chemists is intended to encourage outstanding young research scientists at the beginning of their careers. The awards are given for the most outstanding Ph.D. theses in the general area of the chemical sciences, as described in a short essay. The award is generously sponsored by Solvay.

Each year, IUPAC awards up to five prizes. Each prize consists of an US$1000 cash award and up to US$1000 towards travel expenses to attend the next IUPAC Congress, where the awards will be presented. They make an effort to ensure fair geographic distribution of prizes, in keeping with IUPAC’s status as a global organization.

For this round, the awards will be presented at the 2025 IUPAC Congress, to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 11-18 July 2025. Each awardee will be invited to present a poster on his/her research and to participate in a plenary award session, and is invited to submit a review article for publication in Pure and Applied Chemistry.

Eligibility Criteria

• You must have completed your PhD in the 2023 calendar year, including your defence.
• Your PhD must be from an institution based in an IUPAC member country/territory.
• Your PhD must be in the field of chemical sciences: “chemistry and those disciplines and technologies that make significant use of chemistry”.

What do I need for my entry?

• 6000-character essay: Describe your thesis work in 6000 characters and place it in the context of your broader research field in the chemical sciences. Your essay must be written in English.
• Supporting letters: They require the contact details of people who can write a support letter for your application:
  • Your thesis advisor and/or the chair of your thesis committee
  • One or two faculty members who know and can comment on your thesis work
• Important: The letters must be submitted by the writers themselves, and should be on their institution’s letterhead. Therefore, please only submit their contact details and they will contact them directly for the letters. If you upload a letter yourself, they cannot consider your application any further.

For more information, visit IUPAC.