Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Experimental Condensed Matter or Materials Physics
This award recognizes doctoral thesis research of exceptional quality and importance in experimental condensed matter or experimental materials physics. The annual award consists of $3000, a certificate, travel reimbursement up to $1000, and a registration waiver to attend to give an invited talk and accept the award at APS March Meeting.
Rules and eligibility
Nominations will be accepted for doctoral dissertations written in English and submitted to any college or university, worldwide. Nominees must have submitted their dissertations after January 1, two years prior to the award year. For example, if submitting a nomination for the award to be presented in 2019, the nominee must have submitted their dissertation after January 1, 2017. Nominations may be considered for up to two consecutive review cycles if they continue to meet this criteria and the nominator re-certifies the nomination before the next deadline.
Process and selection
Nominations must be submitted to the Award Selection Committee prior to the deadline for the nominations. The deadline for nominations is typically September 1st of the year preceding the March Meeting where the award is presented. Nominations of qualified women and members of underrepresented minority groups are especially encouraged. This award will be based on the dissertation itself and not the subsequent work.
The nomination packet consists of the following materials:
- APS Prizes and Awards nomination form (nominee’s contact information, thesis date)
- Nominee CV
- A copy of the Ph.D. thesis written in English
- A letter from the thesis advisor explaining the rationale for the nomination
- Two letters of support with at least one being from another institution
Establishment and support
The award was established in 2013 to honor the scientific and administrative contributions of Richard L. Greene to experimental condensed matter and materials physics. The Richard L. Greene Award is supported by a gift from his family.
Recent recipients
Augusto Ghiotto
2024 recipient
For the discovery of a continuous metal-insulator transition and quantum critical behavior in Moire transition metal dichalcogenides.
Tanya Berry
2024 recipient
For exceptional contributions to the discovery of topological materials through Zintl chemistry and advances in synthesis.
Suraj Cheema
2023 recipient
For atomic-scale design of ferroelectricity and negative capacitance in ultrathin HfO2-ZrO2 films on Si.
Tiarnan Doherty
2023 recipient
For characterizing nanostructure and understanding its influence on phase stability and performance in Halide perovskites.
Yuan Cao
2022 recipient
For pioneering discoveries of strongly correlated physics in twisted bilayer graphene.
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.