collaborating early-career investigators award

The Psi-k Collaborating Early-Career Investigators (CECI) Award recognizes exemplary scientific achievements realized in, and thanks to, the essential collaboration of a team of two or more early-career investigators in the areas covered by the Psi-k mission statement (“…to develop fundamental theory, algorithms, and computer codes in order to understand, predict, and design materials properties and functions”).

The award has been established to emphasize the crucial role that collaboration plays in science, and well beyond. Indeed, while progress needs individual creativity, it is equally based on discussions, the exchange of information and ideas, and cooperation.

Applications for the Psi-k CECI Award may be made by the team of early-career investigators themselves. Any member of the Psi-k community may also nominate a team of early-career investigators for the award. In either case, applications must be on the basis of scientific achievements that are documented by at least one peer-reviewed common publication or open source code development.

Eligibility

1. The application must be based on one or more peer-reviewed publications (with a publication date not prior to 25th August 2020) and/or open source code (with a most recent release date not prior to 25th August 2020) that resulted from collaboration between two or more early-career investigators. The contribution of the applicants should be of comparable importance.

2. Applicants may be of any nationality working anywhere in the world.

3. The PhD certificates of the early-career investigators must be dated not prior to 25th August 2020. Those who have not yet completed a PhD can also apply.

4. The eligibility period set out in points (1) and (3) can be extended for certain, properly documented, circumstances (including parental leave). We adopt the approach of the European Research Council, reproduced in Annex 1.

Application

The following documents, merged as a single PDF file (max size 10 MB), must be uploaded (see link "CECI candidates file" below) by 28th February 2025 (23:59 CET):

• The name and contact details of the person submitting the application.

• The name and contact details of all early-career investigators. 

• A summary (including title and a text of maximum 150 words). In the case of self-nomination, and if successful, this will be the abstract for the Psi-k Conference CECI Symposium.  

• A description of up to two pages making the case for the importance of the scientific contribution and for the role of collaboration in the achievement.

• An extended CV of the early-career investigators (highlighting the joint publication(s) and/or code developments, as well as related talks/posters), up to a maximum of two pages per applicant.

• Evidence of satisfying the conditions of regulation (3) above (e.g., copies of PhD certificates).

• Supporting evidence for any requested extension of the eligibility period set out in points (1) and (3) above. 

In addition, up to two confidential support letters should be submitted directly (not via the early-career researchers themselves) to the separate link labeled “CECI support letters” below. These letters must be received by 14th March 2025 (23:59 CET) and must include full contact details and position of the supporting person. In case a senior scientist is co-author of the proposed work, one of the letters should be authored by them and should contain a view on the contribution and collaboration of the early-career investigators. One of the letters (can be the same) must certify that the early-career investigators meet the requirements of regulations (3) above.

Procedure

The Psi-k Trustees will select up to five teams who will be invited to present their work at a special Psi-k CECI Award Symposium at the Psi-k 2025 conference. After these presentations, the award committee will select the award winning team.

The award winning team and the finalist teams will receive their award of 2000 € and 500 €, respectively, together with a certificate, during a ceremony at the conference.

Award committee

The award committee will consist of Lucia Reining (chair), Matteo Calandra, Claudia Draxl, James Kermode, Neepa Maitra, and Milica Todorovic.

Contact

• For technical questions regarding file upload: conference secretariat

• For general questions (eligibility, etc.): committee chair Lucia Reining

Annex 1: Extension of eligibility period

• Maternity: 18 months extension for each child born before or after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree. If an applicant can document a longer total maternity leave, the eligibility period will be extended by the documented amount of actual leave(s) for all children taken before the call deadline.
• Paternity: extension by the documented time of paternity leave taken before the call deadline for each child born before or after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.
• Long-term illness [2] or national service: extension by the documented amount of leave taken by an applicant before the call deadline for each incident, which occurred after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.
• Disability [3]: Extension corresponding to the reduced amount of working time (including leave taken) and/or the degree of disability as documented by an applicant, before the call deadline, and which occurred after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.
• Clinical training: extension by the documented amount of clinical training received by an applicant after the reference date of the first eligible degree and before the call deadline, up to a maximum of 4 years.
• Major disasters [4]: extension by the documented time of an applicant’s inability to work [5] before the call deadline due to a major disaster, which occurred after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.
• Seeking asylum: extension by the documented time of an applicant’s inability to work before the call deadline due to seeking asylum [6], which occurred after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.