15th Young Scientist Award (YSA) - Call for Nominations

The 15th Young Scientist Award (YSA) is now open for nominations.
We welcome nominations from both academia and industry.

Application Guidelines for the 15th Young Scientist Award

1. Purpose This award aims to recognize and encourage outstanding young researchers who will lead the future of synchrotron radiation science and contribute to the development of the community.
2. Eligibility Young researchers who have achieved outstanding results using SPring-8, SACLA, or NanoTerasu.
Both methodological developments and significant applications are eligible.
Industrial applications leading to commercialization are also considered.
3. Number of Awards Up to 3 recipients
4. Qualification Individual members aged 35 or younger as of April 1, 2026, who achieved research results by March 31, 2026.
Career breaks (e.g., childcare, caregiving) may be considered.
Group applications are not accepted.
5. Application Period April 1 - June 1, 2026
6. Submission Please submit nomination documents (including self-nominations) via email to users@spring8.or.jp.
[Required Information]

Nomination Statement:
Please clearly describe the reasons for nomination, including research achievements, the nominee's contribution, and overall research capability.
(e.g., originality, novelty, future potential, scientific and social impact, and contribution to industry if applicable)

Self-Statement by the Nominee:
The nominee must describe their own contributions to the research achievements, past accomplishments, and future perspectives.

Please provide concrete and specific descriptions, as these are key evaluation criteria.
[Reference: Research Achievements]

Up to three major research outputs (e.g., publications) should be listed with the following information:

- Title
- Authors
- Journal name and publication details (or journal name if accepted)
- Summary of achievements

Please prepare one single appeal slide (pptx format) summarizing your main achievements (up to three papers).
This slide should provide an overview of all selected papers, including background, motivation, key findings, and impact.

Please also submit reprints of the published papers.
For industrial applications, please submit publicly available internal reports or equivalent reference materials.
[Reference: Referee Information]

Please provide contact information of a referee (other than the nominator), such as a supervisor or academic advisor.

- Name
- E-mail address
- Affiliation and position
- Address
- Phone number

This information may be used for evaluation purposes.

For further details, please refer to this document.
7. Selection Selection will be conducted by a review committee and finalized by the council.
8. Award Ceremony The award ceremony and presentations will be held at the Synchrotron Radiation Symposium 2026.
Note Travel expenses for awardees will be supported up to 200000 JPY (including overseas recipients).