Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award

The Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award recognizes outstanding, interdisciplinary scientific work in materials research by an early-career scientist or engineer. The award recipient must show exceptional promise as a developing leader in the materials area.

Award Package

The annual award consists of a $5,000 cash prize, a presentation trophy and a certificate. Meeting registration fee and reasonable travel expenses to attend the Materials Research Society meeting at which the award is presented will be reimbursed.

Nomination Information

Nominations for the Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award will be accepted June 1 through August 1. Rules and eligibility, nomination package requirements and more are available here.

2025 Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award Recipient, Jun Chen, University of California, Los Angeles, discusses the research that led to his award for discovering the giant magnetoelastic effect in soft material systems, enabling a fundamentally new approach to developing intrinsically waterproof and biocompatible bioelectronic devices for healthcare and energy applications.

Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award Recipients

Jun Chen, University of California, Los Angeles (2025)

"For discovering the giant magnetoelastic effect in soft material systems, enabling a fundamentally new approach to developing intrinsically waterproof and biocompatible bioelectronic devices for healthcare and energy applications"

Qian Chen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2024)

"For transformative advances in understanding mechanisms of nanoparticle superlattice formation and electrochemical reactions through the innovative use of liquid phase electron microscopy and machine learning-based data analysis"

Luisa Whittaker-Brooks, University of Utah (2023)

"For cutting-edge work on the control of structural phase transitions, spins, and thermal-dependent electronic interactions in organic-inorganic quantum well heterostructures."

Prineha Narang, Harvard University (2022)

"For critical advances in the understanding of materials physics, optical sciences, and topology for the prediction and design of quantum materials"

Huolin Xin, University of California, Irvine (2021)

"For development of innovative transmission electron microscopy imaging methodologies for advancing energy storage and conversion materials"

Jonathan Rivnay, Northwestern University (2020)

"For innovative research on an organic semiconductor microstructure and charge transport for electronics and bioelectronics"

Sheng Xu, University of California, San Diego (2019)

"For materials and device designs in biointegrated electronics and stretchable energy systems"

Vanessa Wood, ETH Zürich (2018)

“For innovative work in visualizing, quantifying and explaining transport processes in material and devices"

William Chueh, Stanford University (2018)

“For groundbreaking research on ionic and electronic charge transport and interface chemistry relevant to electrochemical devices"

James M. Rondinelli, Northwestern University (2017)

"For pioneering advances in the theoretical understanding of atomic structure-electronic property relations of complex inorganic oxides in bulk, thin film, and superlattice geometries”

Jennifer A. Dionne, Stanford University (2017)

“For innovating new materials and methods to visualize and control nanometer-scale optical, electronic, and chemical processes in situ"

Stuart S. P. Parkin, IBM Almaden Research Center (1991)

"Recognizing enterprise in new materials, high Tc superconductors, and magnetic multilayers displaying oscillatory exchange coupling."

David D. Awschalom, University of California, Santa Barbara (1992)

"Recognizing enterprise in the field of nanostructured materials."

Charles M. Lieber, Harvard University (1993)

"Pioneering contributions to the understanding of novel materials, through synthesis and elegant determination of complex local structure and electronic properties."

David J. Eaglesham, AT&T Bell Laboratories (1994)

"Creativity, leadership and experimental ingenuity in discovering an understanding of fundamental interface, surface and defect phenomena in semiconductor crystal growth."

A. Paul Alivisatos, University of California, Berkeley (1995)

"Leadership in materials research, notably in the field of nanocrystals."

Antonios G. Mikos, Rice University (1996)

"For the synthesis and processing of new biomaterials for tissue engineering, supports for cells, tissue-growth conduits, targeted cell-adhesion substrates, and cellular-response stimulants."

Christopher N. Bowman, University of Colorado (1997)

"For seminal contributions to the field of highly crosslinked polymers, information storage materials and computational methods in polymerization engineering."

Anne M. Mayes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1998)

"For incisive theoretical and experimental investigations of macromolecules at and near surfaces and interfaces leading to tailorable surface properties, especially novel biocompatible substrates."

Chad A. Mirkin, Northwestern University (1999)

"Pioneering and leadership role in developing a new interdisciplinary field in which complex biological macromolecules are used to assemble inorganic nanoparticle building blocks into functional meso- and macroscopic structures."

Frances M. Ross, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center (2000)

"For innovative and powerful experimental studies, based upon development of novel in-situ electron microscopy techniques, that have provided fundamental new understanding of nucleation, growth, oxidation and etching processes in a wide range of materials systems."

Kristi S. Anseth, University of Colorado (2001)

"For innovative work in polymeric biomaterials for drug delivery, bone and cartilage repair, and tissue engineering, and for outstanding leadership potential in this interdisciplinary field of materials research."

Timothy J. Deming, University of California, Santa Barbara (2003)

"For his discovery of synthetic methods to produce polypeptide homopolymers and block copolymers with exquisite control of block length, sequence and secondary structure and the interdisciplinary exploitation of these materials to yield unique hydrogels and inorganic materials."

Peidong Yang, University of California, Berkeley (2004)

"For innovative synthesis of a broad range of nanowire and nanowire heterostructure materials, and the discovery of optically-induced lasing in individual nanowire devices."

Harold Y. Hwang, University of Tokyo (2005)

“For innovative work on the materials physics of transition metal oxides and the atomic-scale synthesis of complex oxide heterostructures.”

Ju Li, The Ohio State University (2006)

“For innovative work on the atomistic and first-principles modeling of nanoindentation and ideal strength in revealing the genesis of materials deformation and fracture.”

Michael D. McGehee, Stanford University (2007)

“For innovation and application of organic semiconductors in lasers, light-emitting diodes, transistors and solar cells.”

Michael S. Strano, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2008)

“For innovative work on single walled carbon nanotube chemical modifications, both fundamental and applied, and for pioneering a new class of near infrared sensor architectures based upon chemically induced optical modulation of carbon nanotubes.”

Teri Odom, Northwestern University (2009)

"For the development and characterization of nanoparticles and nanostructured arrays designed to filter and propagate plasmonic excitations with unprecedented control and sensitivity."

Mark C. Hersam, Northwestern University (2010)

“For pioneering research on the physics, chemistry, and engineering of nanoelectronic materials and devices, including solution-phase techniques for sorting carbon nanotubes and graphene, and for organic functionalization and nanopatterning of semiconductor surfaces."

Dmitri V. Talapin, University of Chicago (2011)

“For methodological developments of synthesis and self-assembly of inorganic nanocrystals and for fundamental studies transforming colloidal nanostructures into electronic and optoelectronic materials.”

Markus J. Buehler, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2012)

“For highly innovative and creative work in computational modeling of biological, bio-inspired, and synthetic materials, revealing how weakness is turned into strength through hierarchical material design.”

Alexandra Boltasseva, Purdue University (2013)

"For pioneering research to develop novel materials for advanced plasmonic, metamaterial and transformation optics devices with potential applications in future nanoscale photonic technologies"

Henry J. Snaith, Oxford University (2014)

"For innovation and development of solid state dye sensitized solar cells and for his groundbreaking work in perovskite hybrid solar cells"

Ali Javey, University of California, Berkeley (2015)

"For innovative contributions in integrating nanomaterials into device applications"

Karena W. Chapman, Argonne National Laboratory (2015)

"For contributions to understanding the coupled structure and reactivity of energy-relevant systems and for developing the incisive experimental and analytical tools needed to interrogate these complex materials systems"

Timothy J. White, Air Force Research Laboratory (2016)

"For innovations in the preparation and applications of photo-responsive materials."

Dino Di Carlo, University of California, Los Angeles (2016)

"For pioneering methods to manufacture, measure, and manipulate microstructured materials and applying these innovations to biomedical problems."