Maria Goeppert Mayer Award for outstanding achievement by a woman in physics
To recognize and enhance outstanding achievement by a woman physicist in the early years of her career, and to provide opportunities for her to present these achievements to others through public lectures in the spirit of Maria Goeppert Mayer. The award consists of $5,000 plus a travel allowance to provide opportunities for the recipient to give lectures in her field of physics at up to three institutions and at the meeting of the Society at which the award is bestowed and a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient. The award will be presented annually.
Rules and eligibility
This award is to be given to a woman during the early years of her career, not later than seven years after the granting of the Ph.D. degree (excluding career interruptions), for scientific achievements that demonstrate her potential as an outstanding physicist. The lectures must be given at institutions within the United States or its possessions within two years after the award is made. Nominations are active for three years. The nominee must not have received her PhD earlier than seven years (excluding career interruptions) prior to the nomination deadline.
Process and selection
The nomination package must include:
- A letter of not more than 5,000 characters evaluating the nominees qualifications.
In addition, the nomination should include:
- A biographical sketch.
- A list of the most important publications.
- At least two, but not more than four, seconding letters.
- Up to five reprints or preprints.
Establishment and support
The award was established in 1985 through sponsorship by the General Electric Foundation (now the GE Fund) and generously endowed by Dr. Virginia Trimble in 2019. The award stipend was increased in 2023 through the generous support of national laboratories and the physics community.
Recent recipients
Alison Patteson
2024 recipient
For important contributions in characterizing the physics of living systems, including demonstrating how mechanics influences the collective behavior of bacteria and how intermediate filaments in a cell's cytoskeleton impact its mechanics, migration, and signaling.
Prineha Narang
2023 recipient
For pioneering the development of ab initio computational physics approaches to light-matter coupling and non-equilibrium dynamics and their application to the understanding, prediction, and design of quantum materials.
Blakesley Burkhart
2022 recipient
For outstanding contributions to theoretical astrophysics, elucidating the physics of interstellar turbulence and its impact on star formation on multiple spatial scales.
Phiala E Shanahan
2021 recipient
For key insights into the structure and interactions of hadrons and nuclei using numerical and analytical methods and pioneering the use of machine learning techniques in lattice quantum field theory calculations in particle and nuclear physics.
Elisabeth Krause
2020 recipient
For contributions to theoretical cosmology and astrophysics, in particular, pioneering approaches to modeling key observables and extracting cosmological constraints from large galaxy surveys.
The membership of APS is diverse and global, and the nominees and recipients of APS Honors should reflect that diversity so that all are recognized for their impact on our community. Nominations of members belonging to groups traditionally underrepresented in physics, such as women, LGBT+ scientists, scientists who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), disabled scientists, scientists from institutions with limited resources, and scientists from outside the United States, are especially encouraged.
Nominees for and holders of APS Honors (prizes, awards, and fellowship) and official leadership positions are expected to meet standards of professional conduct and integrity as described in the APS Ethics Guidelines. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.