DPP Katherine E. Weimer Award for Women in Plasma Science Grant

DPP Katherine E. Weimer Award for Women in Plasma Science Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: American Physical Society (APS)
Amount: US $5,000
Last Updated: May 01, 2025

Summary

The DPP Katherine E. Weimer Award for Women in Plasma Science, established by the American Physical Society, recognizes exceptional achievements of early-career women physicists in plasma science. This biennial award includes a $5,000 prize, a certificate, and a registration fee waiver for the Division of Plasma Physics Annual Meeting. The award aims to enhance the representation of women in plasma science and foster their contributions in this field, following the legacy of pioneering researcher Dr. Katherine E. Weimer.

Overview

NOTE: This award is granted every 2 years. The American Physical Society (APS) is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities. APS represents more than 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world. In 2001, the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics(DPP) Executive Committee established the Katherine E. Weimer award to "recognize and encourage outstanding achievement in plasma science research by a woman physicist in the early years of her career." Dr. Katherine E. Weimer was a pioneering research physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton University. She made many important contributions in magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium and stability theory for magnetically confined plasmas. Her obituary, written by John Johnson and John Greene, appeared in September 2001 in Physics Today. Katherine Weimer was the first woman researcher at PPPL and author of this Editorial. The Division of Plasma Physics has historically experienced significantly lower representation of women in its ranks compared to other divisions (7% vs. 11% in 2010). This award will play an important role in recognizing the contribution and potential of women in plasma science and will help to attract and retain women in this field. The Katherine E. Weimer Award recognizes a woman in the early years of her career for scientific achievements in plasma science. The Award endowment was funded with $15,000 from DPP and 15,000 of generous contributions from friends and colleagues of Katherine Weimer, and includes contributions from discretionary funds of fusion/plasma science research laboratories. Purpose To recognize and encourage outstanding achievement in plasma science research by a woman physicist in the early years of her career. The award consists of $5,000, a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient and presented during the award ceremony at the Division of Plasma Physics Annual Meeting banquet, and a registration fee waiver. The recipient will be invited to give a talk at the Division of Plasma Physics annual meeting. Establishment and Support The Plasma Science community and the APS Division of Plasma Physics established the award through joint sponsorship in 2001. It was named after Dr. Katherine E. Weimer, a pioneering woman physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Dr. Weimer made many important contributions to research advancements in magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium and stability theory for magnetically confined plasmas.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Eligible nominees must have received their Ph.D. within ten years prior to the nomination deadline and demonstrated significant potential as an outstanding plasma scientist.The award is open to any woman working in the field of plasma science.In alignment with APS policy, brief leaves taken during the ten-year post-Ph.D. period (e.g., for family or medical reasons) may be considered in determining eligibility. Such circumstances should be clearly explained in the nomination package.Nominations are active for one selection cycle only.