Deadline: May 25, 2025
Award Amount
Two Grand Prize winners will each be awarded a cash prize of US $15,000 and provided travel and accommodation to the award ceremony, if applicable. Additionally, both Grand Prize winners will be invited to present a proposal for funding* to the NOMIS foundation. Each winner will receive a 5-year digital subscription to Science and have their winning essays published in Science.*
*All processes, rules and policies related to funding/grants and all obligations related to selection and granting thereof will be the sole responsibility of NOMIS.
All federal, state and local taxes, and any other costs and expenses associated with the receipt or use of the prize are the sole responsibility of the winner.
Background
Research is the vital expression of humankind’s most important qualities—curiosity and imagination—and is the basis for all knowledge and discovery. To answer fundamental research questions, enable discoveries, and advance human progress, we must engage innovative, unconventional approaches. But employing unconventional approaches in science is risky at best, even more so for early-career researchers. Research conducted by a postdoctoral student often determines the trajectory of their academic career; the opportunity to pursue high-risk questions at this stage is rare, and failures can quickly stifle career prospects. It is therefore imperative that promising young researchers receive support at this crucial phase.
To extend this critical support to early-career scientists, the NOMIS Foundation and Science/AAAS established a partnership in the form of the NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award. Recognizing bold early-career researchers who ask fundamental questions at the intersection of the social and life sciences, the NOMIS & Science Award is granted to scientists who conduct research with an enthusiasm that catalyzes cross-disciplinary collaboration and who take risks to creatively address relevant and exciting questions.
About
The award is presented for outstanding research performed by the applicant as described in a 1,000-word essay.
For more information, please see the opportunity webpage.