Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists

Main image

Recognizing Breakthrough Research and Discovery in Science

The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists is the largest unrestricted prize ever created for early-career scientists.

The awards, administered by the New York Academy of Sciences, recognize exceptional scientists when they need it most – in the early years of their professional careers. It is at this critical time, during promising early stage discovery, that validation and funding will make the difference between those ideas that end in the lab and those that go on to make transformative breakthroughs in science. The awards are open to scientists age 42 and younger working in the fields of Chemistry, Physical Sciences and Engineering or Life Sciences. Honorees are selected based on the quality, novelty, and impact of their research and their potential for further significant contributions to science. The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists encompass four separate award competitions:

View the 2022 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists Brochure

 

Highlights from the 2021 Ceremony of the UK Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists

By the close of 2023, there will be:

443

honorees

52

countries represented

36

scientific and engineering disciplines represented

Quote icon

Many years ago, I was fortunate enough to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm. As I watched so many distinguished scientists being recognized for their legacy of scientific breakthroughs, I wondered if such a thing existed for the gifted men and women in the early stages of their careers. What about those who show great promise to one day stand on this stage as Nobel Laureates, but who may today lack the support and validation for their research that they need to get there? The realization that there was no such program was profound. This became the inspiration for the Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists.”

– Len Blavatnik

Our History

  • 2007
  • 2012
  • 2014
  • 2018
  • 2019
  • 2020
  • 2023

  • 2007

    The Blavatnik Regional Awards are created in the United States to celebrate the outstanding postdoctoral and faculty scientists who work in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

  • 2012

    Sub Label One

    The Blavatnik Family Foundation announces a doubling of the prize money for winners and finalists. The following year, the Awards granted three $250,000 prizes in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry to faculty scientists.

  • 2014

    Ridiculus mus Sub Label 2

    The Blavatnik National Awards announce its first National Laureates in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry. The Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences host the first annual Blavatnik Science Symposium.

  • 2018

    Aliquet lectus

    The inaugural Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom and in Israel receive 124 nominations from 67 institutions and 47 nominations from 8 institutions, respectively. The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists are conferred for the first time in both countries. In Israel, the New York Academy of Sciences collaborates with the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in administering the awards.

  • 2019

    Neque porro sublabel 4

    2019Three women are named Blavatnik National Awards Laureates, marking the first time in Blavatnik National Awards history that the top prize is concurrently awarded to female scientists in each of the three disciplinary categories. In 2018, three women were also awarded the top prize in each category in the Blavatnik Regional Awards.

  • 2020

    Sub Label One

    2020Blavatnik Scholars rally to the fight against COVID-19. From predicting and detecting disease spread to identifying an effective treatment, recipients of the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists rise to the challenge as society calls on scientists to help repair the world.

  • 2023

    By the close of 2023, the Blavatnik Awards will have recognized 443 young scientists and engineers from 52 countries and awarded prizes totaling over $15.4 million.