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What are the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists?
The New York Academy of Sciences’ Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists acknowledge and celebrate the excellence of our most noteworthy young scientists and engineers in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The awards recognize highly innovative, impactful, and interdisciplinary accomplishments in the life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, and engineering with unrestricted financial prizes for both finalists and awardees.
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Is there a limit to the number of nominations/applications that can be submitted per institution?
Yes, for the Postdoctoral category only. New to the 2012 competition is a cap on the number of Institutional Nominations that each institution may submit for Postdoctoral candidates (please note that there is no limit on Peer or Self-Nominations for the Faculty category). Each institution may only nominate up to 10 postdocs for each year of competitions. If more than 10 Institutional Nominations are received from the same institution, only the first 10 postdoctoral nominations submitted will be accepted.
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I cannot find the Application Form online. Where is it?
Only the link to the Nomination Form is made public (http://www.nyas.org/blavatnik2012nomination). Once the Nomination Form is submitted by the nominator, links to the Registration and Application Forms are automatically emailed to the applicant with instructions for how to log-in. Candidates cannot access the Registration or Application Forms until their nominator submits the Nomination Form, therefore the links to the Registration and Application Forms are not made public.
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I am a Research Scientist, Research Associate, or Resident Fellow. Should I apply under the Postdoctoral or Faculty category?
Research Scientists, Research Associates, and Resident Fellows must apply under the Postdoctoral category. Please consult the Guidelines for more information.
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I am currently a Postdoc but will soon transition into a faculty position. Should I therefore apply as a Faculty applicant?
We ask that you apply under the category that corresponds to your current position; for example, if you are a postdoctoral student when you apply on February 1, but will be a faculty member on March 1st, we ask that you still apply under the Postdoctoral category. Every year there are postdoctoral applicants who hold a faculty rank by the time that selection decisions are announced.
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I am a Postdoc considering applying for the Blavatnik Awards, but my PI is also considering applying. Will this present a conflict?
No. Faculty and Postdoctoral categories are self-contained, meaning that Faculty applicants only compete against other Faculty applicants, and Postdoctoral applicants only compete against other Postdoctoral applicants. Postdoctoral applicants do not compete against Faculty applicants, and vise-versa. Therefore, there is no conflict if your PI applies during the same year that you apply.
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What happens once all of my application materials are received?
Once all materials are received and your application is complete, you will receive a confirmation email from the awards staff. Your application will then be sent to selected judges in your area. Applications may go through up to three rounds of judging before finalists are announced in the Summer.
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Who are the judges?
Our judging committee is comprised of up to 70 leading scientists from over 30 scientific disciplines. Judges are distinguished professors, departmental chairs, deans, provosts, research directors, and senior scientific editors. A list of judges from the 2011 awards can be found here.
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I am interested in serving as a judge for the Blavatnik Awards. May I?
If you would like to sit on the judging panel, please send an updated CV to awards@nyas.org; judging invitations take place in the early Autumn months and we will keep your credentials on file until the appropriate time. We must meet very specific criteria when recruiting judges for the Blavatnik Awards and therefore we regret that we are not able to extend judging invitations to all of the qualified scientists that are interested in participating.
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What criteria are used for evaluation decisions?
In the process of selection, the judging panel asks questions about each applicant’s research accomplishments in regards to its Impact, Innovation, and, when applicable, Interdisciplinarity.
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Can I view the evaluations that judges enter in for my application?
No. All evaluations for the Blavatnik Awards competition are kept strictly confidential.
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Can I view the Letters of Recommendation or the Rationale for Nomination that is included in my application package?
No. All information submitted on the applicant’s behalf by colleagues or supervisors is kept strictly confidential (with the exception of basic biographical information).
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What is the policy on interviews?
The Blavatnik Awards staff and judges do not conduct any interviews as part of the evaluation process.
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Is there a waiting list for the awards?
No.
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Does the Blavatnik Awards have quotas for a particular region, discipline, or institution?
The awards seek to identify finalists with unique achievements and talents. We do not have any quotas for any particular population. Applicants are compared to all other applicants, between and across regions, disciplines, and institutions.
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I was born in December 1969, just days before the birth-date cutoff listed in the criteria. May I be allowed to apply through a special exception?
We cannot make any exceptions on the date-of-birth criteria and will only accept applications from individuals born on or after January 1, 1970.
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Which disciplines are covered by the awards?
Biochemistry & Chemical Biology
Biophysics & Structural Biology
Biotechnology & Pharmacology
Cell & Molecular Biology
Chemistry — Inorganic
Chemistry — Organic
Chemistry — Physical
Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology & Translational Research
Computational Biology & Bioinformatics
Computer Science — Applications & Scientific Computing
Computer Science — Systems & Theory
Developmental & Regenerative Biology
Earth Science — Atmospheric Sciences & Hydrology
Earth Science — Geology & Geophysics
Ecology & Ecological Economics
Engineering — Chemical & Biological
Engineering — Civil & Environmental
Engineering — Computer & Electronic
Engineering — Mechanical & Aerospace
Environmental Sciences — Biogeochemistry & Oceanography
Environmental Sciences — Environmental Health & Toxicology
Evolutionary Biology — Genetics
Evolutionary Biology — Paleontology & Zoology
Genetics & Genomic Sciences
Immunology & Microbiology
Materials Science
Mathematics — Pure
Mathematics — Applied
Nanotechnology
Neuroscience — Cellular, Molecular & Systems
Neuroscience — Cognitive & Behavioral
Physics — Astronomy, Astrophysics & Cosmology
Physics — Atomic, Molecular & Optical
Physics — Condensed Matter
Physics — Nuclear & Particle
Physiology
Systems & Synthetic Biology
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Can scientists from liberal arts colleges, community colleges, or industrial corporations apply?
Scientists from any research institution are allowed to apply as long as they meet the assorted eligibility criteria.
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The NIH recently changed its format for the CV/Biosketch. Should I send mine under the new or the old format?
Either format is fine.
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Who should write my two recommendation letters?
Letter writers should be from two people who you have worked closely with over your career, including departmental chairs/research advisors, current or past colleagues, or affiliated mentors.
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May I ask a student of mine to write one of my recommendation letters?
While you can have a student write a recommendation in support of your application, it is strongly discouraged. We recommend having faculty colleagues write your recommendations, whether from within or from outside of your primary host institution.
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May I submit more than two recommendation letters?
No, only two letters will be accepted. If more than two are received, only the first two received will be included in your application package.
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How will I know that my Letters of Support have been received?
First, stay in communication with your letter writers – they should confirm with you when the letters have been sent to awards@nyas.org. If this line of communication is difficult or unavailable, you may contact the Awards Coordinator, Marley Bauce, at 212.298.8624. Please be aware that you will receive a confirmation email after the February 15 deadline with an update on your status: whether both letters have been received, or whether one or both letters are missing.
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How competitive are the Blavatnik Awards?
Becoming a Finalist is a highly selective process, and the judging panel is able to name only a small fraction of many qualified applicants as Finalists. Of all applicants, only approximately 8% are named as Finalists. Profiles of the 2011 Finalists can be found here.
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I am a postdoctoral student who is having difficulty getting a dean at my institution to nominate me. What should I do?
We will accept nominations from a Director of Postdoctoral Affairs as long as the nomination is supplemented by a brief letter or email of support from an executive administrator. You may also contact the Awards office at the Academy (212.298.8624) for a list of executive administrators at your institution that have already been made aware of the nomination process. Please be aware that each institution may only nominate up to 10 postdoctoral candidates for each year of competitions and it is in your best interest to request a nomination as early as possible.
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Would sending a bibliography of my four selected publications and/or patents suffice for my application?
No. Applicants must submit full-text pdf versions of their four publications/patents so that judges can review the work in its entirety. Bibliographies that list the titles of publications will not be accepted.
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I am interested in the award but cannot decide whether to apply this year or wait until next year. What should I do?
We allow scientists to apply up to two times for the awards; we suggest waiting to submit an application until your credentials are as strong as possible while still being under the conditions of eligibility.
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Are there any words of advice for while I prepare my application materials?
• We recommend that your Research Statement be written to emphasize your strengths in Impact, Innovation, and Interdisciplinarity.
• Submit your CV in NIH/NSF format only; submitting this document in any other format risks inconsistency between applications and indicating that you, the applicant, did not consult the Guidelines form.
• Be mindful of how your two letters of recommendation overlap with what you mention in your Statement, especially when evaluating the strengths of your work.
• Send publications/patents that best represent your work, not necessarily publications co-authored by your mentor.
• Label each of your application materials according to the requirements stated in the Guidelines.
• Turn in your application early: do not wait until the last minute. It is to your benefit to submit the Nomination and Application Forms as early in the season as possible.