Dear abinit community,
Every year the Psi-k network delivers two awards for young researchers in electronic structure calculations of materials. Please nominate your students and colleagues! This is an excellent occasion to showcase their work and to gain confidence and visibility.
See below for details - it’s a light procedure.
All the best
Matthieu Verstraete
The call for applications and nominations for this year’s Psi-k Early-Career Investigator Awards is now open: the Psi-k Volker Heine Early-Career Investigator (VHECI) Award, which celebrates individual scientific achievements by early-career investigators in our field, and the Psi-k Collaborating Early-Career Investigators (CECI) Award, which celebrates exemplary scientific achievements obtained thanks to work in collaboration.
We encourage applications from, and nominations of, early-career researchers of all backgrounds and are committed to ensuring that diverse and non linear career paths are fully recognised. The deadline for applications is 15 July 2026.
Who should apply / nominate?
- Applicants may be of any nationality and can be working anywhere in the world.
- Researchers who have not yet completed a PhD can apply.
- Applications may be made by early-career investigators themselves; any member of the Psi-k community may also nominate eligible candidates or teams.
We encourage all members of Psi-k to consider applying or nominating others for these awards - this is a great opportunity to highlight the richness of the science done in our community, and the diversity of the people who do it. We particularly encourage applications and nominations from individuals and teams who have experienced non-linear career paths and from groups that are under represented in science. We note that, historically, under-represented groups in our community have been even more under-represented in the applications for Psi-k Early-Career Investigator Awards; for example, in the last round fewer than 10% of the applicants were women. We urge every individual in the community to reflect on this and we look forward to receiving a truly representative set of applications.
Equity and eligibility
We recognise that excellent research careers are often non-linear. For both awards the eligibility period can be extended for properly documented circumstances, including parental leave (maternity and paternity), long term illness, disability, national service, clinical training, major disasters, seeking asylum, and violence.
We broadly adopt the approach of the European Research Council Work Programme 2026. Some examples include:
- Maternity: 18 months per child, or the documented longer maternity leave taken.
- Paternity: extension by the documented length of paternity leave taken.
- Long term illness or national service: extension by the documented amount of leave.
- Disability: extension corresponding to reduced working time and/or degree of disability.
- Clinical training: extension by documented clinical training (up to 4 years).
- Major disasters, seeking asylum, or violence: extension by the documented time of inability to work.
Panels will consider uninterrupted trajectories and trajectories with eligibility period extensions on an equal footing. If you are unsure about your eligibility or how extensions apply to you, please contact us; all queries will be handled confidentially.
For further details, see below and the Psi-k Awards 2026 website.
Psi-k Collaborating Early-Career Investigators (CECI) Award
For exemplary scientific achievements that result from collaboration between early-career investigators
The Psi-k CECI Award recognises exemplary scientific achievements realised in, and thanks to, the essential collaboration of a team of two or more early-career investigators in the areas covered by the Psi k mission statement (“…to develop fundamental theory, algorithms, and computer codes in order to understand, predict, and design materials properties and functions”).
The award celebrates the crucial role that collaboration plays in science, and well beyond. While progress needs individual creativity, it is equally based on discussions, the exchange of information and ideas, and cooperation.
There will be one award of €2,000 for the winning team and up to four prizes of €500 each for the other finalist teams.
Nominations and applications
Applications for the Psi k CECI Award may be made by the team of early career investigators themselves. Any member of the Psi k community may also nominate a team of early career investigators for the award.
In either case, applications should be supported by scientific achievements documented by at least one peer reviewed common publication and/or open source code development.
Eligibility requirements and full details of how to apply can be found on the Psi-k Awards 2026 website.
The deadline for applications is 23:59 CET, 15 July 2026.
The chosen finalists will be invited to present their work at a special Psi-k CECI Award Symposium at the DPG Conference in Regensburg, 14-19 March 2027.
Psi-k Volker Heine Early-Career Investigator (VHECI) Award
For exemplary scientific achievements of early-career investigators
The Psi-k VHECI Award recognises individuals for their outstanding contribution to computational science in the areas covered by the Psi k mission statement (“…to develop fundamental theory, algorithms, and computer codes in order to understand, predict, and design materials properties and functions”).
There will be one award of €1,500 for the winner and up to four prizes of €500 each for the other finalists.
Nominations and applications
Early-career investigators are invited to put themselves forward for the Psi k VHECI Award. Any member of the Psi-k community may also nominate an early-career investigator for the award.
Evidence of achievement can include peer reviewed publications as well as open source code, community infrastructure, and other reproducible research outputs.
Eligibility requirements and full details of how to apply can be found on the Psi-k Awards 2026 website.
The deadline for applications is 23:59 CET, 15 July 2026.
The chosen finalists will be invited to present their work at a special Psi-k VHECI Award Symposium at the DPG Conference in Regensburg, 14-19 March 2027.
We look forward to receiving your applications and nominations for these awards.
With best wishes,
Arash Mostofi
Psi-k Chair
Lucia Reining
CECI Award Panel Chair
Patrick Rinke
VHECI Award Panel Chair