FIAP Career Lectureship Award
The American Physical Society (APS) Committee on Careers and Professional Development (CCPD) and the APS Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics (FIAP) seek to recognize physicists in industrial and other non-academic careers and support them in delivering a series of engaging lectures about their careers.
Winners of the FIAP Career Lectureship Award (FCLA) will be expected to develop a compelling career lecture and deliver it at different venues during their one-year term (as described in the rules below). Winners will be announced on the APS website and in APS News and also recognized at an APS meeting. The FCLA includes a $5,000 cash prize award and a plaque, which will be presented at an APS conference after completion of the term. In addition to the cash prize, APS will provide up to $5,000 in travel support to complete the lecture series.
Rules and eligibility
This award is given annually to one physicist. The award has a term of one year. Nominees need not be members of the APS or FIAP.
Award recipients agree to give at least three lectures during their term. The lectures should be delivered at a national APS conference, a sectional APS conference, and other venues, such as physics department colloquia, to be arranged by mutual agreement with the recipient and the Selection Committee Chair in consultation with the CCPD and with assistance from APS staff. In accordance with the APS Diversity Statement, at least one lecture should take place at a conference or institution that primarily serves groups that have historically been underrepresented in physics.
Presentations should discuss key aspects of the recipient’s career and professional development in physics, they should be interactive and engaging, and they should be aimed especially at students and postdocs.
Process and selection
The awardee, selected in June, will begin their lectureship in September of the same year and will conclude in March of the following year.
The nomination must include:
- A letter of not more than two pages evaluating the nominee’s most significant contributions that qualify the nominee for this award and other related accomplishments. Nomination statements should also address the nominee’s speaking ability. (For self nominations, a personal statement on the same topics).
- The nominee’s resume or curriculum vita of not more than three pages, and/or a brief biographical sketch.
Based on a review of the written applications, the selection committee will identify a shortlist of the strongest candidates that will be evaluated in more detail. These semifinalists will move on to a second round where the final winner(s) will be selected. This second round may include a brief oral interview to evaluate the candidate’s speaking ability, to be held by virtual teleconference.
Nominations will be considered for three review cycles provided the nominator re-certifies the nomination before the next deadline.
Establishment and support
The FCLA is a committee award that was established in 2013 by the CCPD and FIAP and was originally known as the Distinguished Lectureship Award on the Applications of Physics. The award serves to stimulate interest and excitement in non-academic career paths in physics, and to expose students, faculty, and physics graduates to the wide variety of cutting-edge problems encountered throughout a successful industrial or other non-academic career. The FCLA is endowed by FIAP.
Recent recipients
Azadeh Keivani
2023 recipient
For the development and application of artificial intelligence techniques to problems ranging from education to clinical studies in cancer and heart disease, and for enthusiasm in the translation of esoteric academic research training into solutions for pressing real-world problems.
Qiuzi Li
2022 recipient
For discovering innovative concepts utilizing theories of electromagnetics, acoustics, and condensed matter physics to advance technologies for subsurface characterization and non-destructive sensing, combined with a personal dedication to mentoring the next generation of physicists.
Sufi Zafar
2021 recipient
For contributions to semiconductor device-based biosensors with applications in biology, healthcare and Internet of Things (IoT).
Thirumalai Venkatesan
2020 recipient
For invention and commercialization of the pulsed laser deposition process and for sustained leadership in academic entrepreneurship.
Cynthia Keppel
2019 recipient
For pioneering work in proton therapy and for the promotion of the applications of physics to both experts and non-experts.
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.