Awards

Student Research Paper Award

The Molecular Foundry User Executive Committee (UEC) is pleased to continue the annual Student Research Paper Award of $1,500 to be given to an exceptional first-authored student paper published between 2022-2024. The paper must be based on work performed at and acknowledging the Molecular Foundry, and the first author must have been a student when the majority of the work was performed, graduating no earlier than 2022.

Eligibility and Criteria

  • Research paper must be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
  • Date of first publication should be 2022 or later.
  • The paper must be based on work performed at the Molecular Foundry.
  • Use of the Molecular Foundry must be acknowledged in the paper.
  • The first author undergraduate or graduate student should have graduated no earlier than 2022.
  • Nominations can be submitted by the student’s research advisor, by Molecular Foundry staff, or by the student. All nominations require a letter of support from the student’s research advisor or Molecular Foundry staff.
  • Previous nominees who meet eligibility criteria, and have not won this award, may be nominated again.
  • Co-first-authored papers will be accepted. The contribution of each first author should be explained in detail.
  • Abstract submissions for an oral or poster presentation at the User Meeting are still encouraged, but the winner of the student paper award will be excluded from the poster competition.
  • The winner must participate in the on-site event. Travel support up to $600 is available upon request.

Nomination and Selection Process

  1. A statement summarizing the novelty and impact of the work (20 words maximum)
  2. A nomination letter from the student’s Principal Investigator or Foundry Staff contact
    • Letters should clearly articulate:
      • What was the student’s contribution to the work?
      • What is the scientific merit of this work?
      • What were the challenging aspects of this work?
      • Which Foundry capabilities were engaged, and how central were these to the work?
    • Because of the Foundry’s highly multidisciplinary nature, the nomination letter should use language suitable for non-experts in the field.
  3. Student Curriculum Vitae
  4. PDF copy of the manuscript

Nominations will be evaluated by the User Executive Committee.

Submission Process and Deadline

Nominations close on June 5, 2024

Prize

A $1,500 prize is awarded to the best first-author student paper. The award winner will give a 15-minute Plenary Talk.

Congratulations to our recent winners of the Student Research Paper Award!

  • Paul Corbae, 2023
  • Samra Husremovic, 2022
  • Adam Uliana, 2021

Please direct questions to Shannon Ciston.

Postdoc Research Paper Award

The Molecular Foundry User Executive Committee (UEC) is pleased to offer a Postdoc Research Paper Award of $1,500 to be given to an exceptional first-authored Postdoc paper published between 2022-2024. The paper must be based on work performed at and acknowledging the Molecular Foundry, and the first author must have been a Postdoc when the majority of the work was performed, graduating no earlier than 2022.

Eligibility and Criteria

  • Research paper must be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
  • Date of first publication should be 2022 or later.
  • The paper must be based on work performed at the Molecular Foundry.
  • Use of the Molecular Foundry must be acknowledged in the paper.
  • The first author undergraduate or graduate Postdoc should have graduated no earlier than 2022.
  • Nominations can be submitted by the Postdoc’s research advisor, by Molecular Foundry staff, or by the Postdoc. All nominations require a letter of support from the Postdoc’s research advisor or Molecular Foundry staff.
  • Previous nominees who meet eligibility criteria, and have not won this award, may be nominated again.
  • Co-first-authored papers will be accepted. The contribution of each first author should be explained in detail.
  • Abstract submissions for an oral or poster presentation at the User Meeting are still encouraged, but the winner of the Postdoc paper award will be excluded from the poster competition.
  • The winner must participate in the on-site event. Travel support up to $600 is available upon request.

Nomination and Selection Process

  1. A statement summarizing the novelty and impact of the work (20 words maximum)
  2. A nomination letter from the Postdoc’s Principal Investigator or Foundry Staff contact
    • Letters should clearly articulate:
      • What was the Postdoc’s contribution to the work?
      • What is the scientific merit of this work?
      • What were the challenging aspects of this work?
      • Which Foundry capabilities were engaged, and how central were these to the work?
    • Because of the Foundry’s highly multidisciplinary nature, the nomination letter should use language suitable for non-experts in the field.
  3. Postdoc Curriculum Vitae
  4. PDF copy of the manuscript

Nominations will be evaluated by the User Executive Committee.

Submission Process and Deadline

Nominations close on June 5, 2024

Prize

A $1,500 prize is awarded to the best first-author Postdoc paper. The award winner will give a 15-minute Plenary Talk.

Please direct questions to Shannon Ciston.

Outstanding Staff Service Award

The Molecular Foundry User Executive Committee (UEC) is soliciting nominations for the Outstanding Staff Service Award that will be presented during the User Meeting. This annual award recognizes staff that have provided outstanding service by going above and beyond to support the user community.

Nomination materials

  • A nomination statement (300 word maximum) highlighting the nominated staff member’s efforts in supporting and assisting users, providing specific examples of the outstanding service.
  • Nominations may list additional users supporting the nomination. Supporters will be contacted by the User Executive Committee and required to confirm their support to the nomination.
  • Nominations close on June 25, 2024
  • The winner will be announced on August 16th, 2024.

Eligibility

  • Staff who have not won the Staff Service Award in the previous three years are eligible.
  • Staff must be employed by the Molecular Foundry at the time of nomination to be eligible.

Congratulations to our recent winners of the Staff Service Award!

  • Carolin Sutter-Fella, 2023
  • Liana Klivansky, 2022
  • Ed Barnard, 2021

Please direct questions to Shannon Ciston

User Meeting Travel Award (Sponsored by ThermoFisher Scientific)

The Molecular Foundry User Executive Committee (UEC) is pleased to offer travel awards to offset travel to attend the 2024 User Meeting in person at Berkeley Lab. The award includes full conference registration and up to $900 to offset eligible travel expenses. Awardees must be from an academic institution in the United States that is either a Minority-Serving Institution (link to classification table), an academic institution in an EPSCoR state/territory (link to definition), or an Emerging Research Institution as defined by the DOE (link to classification table), located more than 150 miles from the Berkeley Lab site. Awardees must submit an abstract for consideration in either the poster session or the technical symposia or workshop sessions. 

Nominations close on June 25, 2024