Information for Applicants

Background to the Award

The Bragg gold medal for the best PhD thesis by a student from an Australian University was established in 1992 as an initiative of the South Australian Branch, to commemorate Sir Laurence Bragg (in front on the medal)and his father Sir William Bragg. The winners so far have been:

• 1992 Dr Stephen Bass, University of Adelaide
• 1993 Dr Henry Chapman, University of Melbourne
• 1994 Dr Wolodymyr Melnitchouk, University of Adelaide
• 1995 Dr Howard Wiseman, University of Queensland
• 1996 Dr Andre Luiten, University of Western Australia
• 1997 Dr Alexander Buryak, Australian National University
• 1998 Dr Tanya Monro, University of Sydney
• 1999 Dr Ping Koy Lam, Australian National University
• 2000 Dr Mark Oxley, University of Melbourne
• 2001 Dr Nicole Bell, University of Melbourne
• 2002 Dr Annette Berriman, Australian National University
• 2003 Dr Michael Bromley, Charles Darwin University
• 2004 Dr Warwick Bowen, Australian National University
• 2005 Dr Philip Bartlett, Murdoch University
• 2006 Dr Alex Argyros, Sydney University
• 2008 Dr Frank Ruess, UNSW
• 2009 Dr. Christian Romer Rosberg, ANU
• 2010 Dr Clancy William James, University of Adelaide

1. Each Australian University may nominate one candidate. These nominations are submitted to the State Branch Committee.
2. The State Branch Committee selects the best thesis from their state (two from NSW and VIC) and sends this to the Hon Secretary at PO Box 82 Parkville VIC 3052
3. A national judging panel is appointed, which selects the national winner.

Conditions of the Award

1. The medal is awarded annually to the student who is judged to have completed the most outstanding PhD thesis in Physics under the auspices of an Australian university, whose degree has been approved but not necessarily conferred in the previous thirteen months. No candidate may be nominated more than once.
2. The medal will be presented to the chosen candidate at Congress in even numbered years, and in uneven numbered years at a function to be arranged by the AIP Branch of the state of the candidate's university. The medal will not be awarded in absentia; the candidate must be present for the presentation at a time which is mutually convenient. Reasonable expenses in attending the presentation will be met by the Council of the AIP.
3. Only one medal shall be awarded; there is no possibility of a dual award. If the selection committee considers that none of the theses submitted reaches an appropriate standard, no award will be made.
4. The nomination made to the Secretary of the local State Branch should include a citation describing the significance of the work, markers' reports if available and a justification of the nomination.
5. The state nominations submitted for the national judging shall be accompanied by three copies of the thesis to assist in the selection process.
6. There shall be a Bragg Medal Selection Committee, appointed by the Executive, which shall determine the candidate for the award of the medal from those nominated by the Branches.
7. In making its decision the Bragg Medal Selection Committee will take into account:
• the overall quality and significance of the work
• the level of originality or creativity exhibited
• the intrinsic difficulty of the project

Mindful of the need to retain a balance between experimental and theoretical theses, the committee will pay particular attention to factors which may lead to either group being unduly advantaged or disadvantaged.

Note:

During the period to 2006 the Bragg Medal was referenced to the year of PhD examination, not the year the award was presented. i.e. The 2006 Bragg Medal was for a thesis awarded in 2006, even though the award was presented in 2007. This situation was changed in 2008 to make the Bragg Medal consistent with other AIP awards and medals. i.e. The award is designated with the year of presentation. As a consequence of this change no award is listed for 2007.

Further information and application submission

A call for nominations will be made in Australian Physics each year but further information about this award can be obtained from the AIP Special Projects Officer at the email address given below.

Applications and nominations should be sent by email or mail to:

AIP Special Projects Officer,

Olivia Samardzic,

205 Labs, EWRD,

DSTO,

P.O. Box 1500,

Edinburgh, SA 5111.

Email: Special Projects Officer