Awards

At our conference, three individuals will be honored with a major award. Awardees receive a certificate, an honorarium of 1.000,- €, and we will cover the registration fee. Nominations include a single pdf file with nomination remarks (up to 500 words) highlighting the nominee’s accomplishments in the particular category, and a list of up to ten most relevant references with links to the publications.

The Polymer Networks Group Award honors one researcher with outstanding scientific contributions to the field in past decades. The candidate stands out due to her/his strong support for the community, active participation in several meetings where the awardee was standig out with fruitful and critical discussions that helped colleagues to improve their work. The recipient is expected to present a prize talk at the conference reception celebrating 50 years of Polymer Networks Group.

Eligibility: A nominee cannot be a member of the award committee. Self nominations are not allowed. Nominations have to be sent to Christopher N. Bowman by the 15th of March 2026. We thank the Polymer Networks Group for sponsoring this award.

The Polymer Networks Group Research Award honors one researcher with outstanding work in the field of polymer networks and gels in past five years. The focus of this award is on the novelty and quality of recent work with particular emphasis on the impact to the field and new possibilities that become available due to this work. The recipient is expected to deliver a 30 min. prize talk at the meeting (Wednesday afternoon in the awards session).

Eligibility: A nominee cannot be a member of the award committee. Self nominations are not allowed. Nominations have to be sent to png@ipfdd.de by the 15th of March 2026. We thank Procter & Gamble for sponsoring this award.

The Karel Dušek Award honors one young scientist at an early stage of the career typically within 10 years since the first publication. Outstanding publications in the field of polymer networks and gels are required for eligibility. Possible awardees have to be recommended by colleagues from the field and must present a talk at the meeting. All recommended speakers that met our criteria and that agreed to present at the meeting are listed on our emerging scientists page. The winner will be honored in the award session on Wednesday afternoon.

Eligibility: A nominee cannot be a member of the award committee. Self nominations are not allowed. Nominations have to be sent to png@ipfdd.de by the 15th of March 2026. We thank the Karel Dušek Fund for sponsoring this award.

Moreover, we will issue 5 Poster Awards during the award session on Wednesday afternoon. Awardees receive a certificate, and the presenter of the poster an honorarium of 300,-€.

Eligible are only individuals that present a poster at the meeting. We thank Procter & Gamble for sponsoring this award.