Call for Nominations for the Blavatnik Regional POSTDOCTORAL Competition (Deadline: October 7)

September 15, 2026

Deans, Directors, and Chairpersons:

On behalf of the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, I would like to notify you that the University has been invited to submit nominations for consideration for the regional postdoctoral competition of the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists. Rutgers can nominate up to 15 of our most promising postdoctoral scientists and engineers working in disciplines within the chemical sciences, life sciences, and physical sciences & engineering. Winners will be awarded $30,000 each in unrestricted funds, and finalists will be awarded $10,000 each in unrestricted funds. The Blavatnik guidelines specify that the nominees must have been born in or after 1985. Age limit exceptions will be considered in exceptional circumstances upon a detailed written submission from the nominating institution by November 11, 2026. Exceptional circumstances can include but are not limited to maternity/paternity leave, prolonged absence due to severe illness, etc. The Blavatnik Awards strongly encourages institutional nominators to diversify the population of candidates nominated for this Award. 

Please visit the Blavatnik website for more detailed guidelines. To nominate a candidate, please upload to InfoReady, a research summary (1,000 words maximum), list of published papers (after graduate training) and/or patents, curriculum vitae, disciplinary category, professional service statement, and a letter of nomination no later than October 7, 2026. Self-nominations will not be accepted. The usual peer review process will be invoked if there are more than fifteen nominations. Those postdoctoral candidates who are chosen will be notified as soon as possible, so that they have time to prepare a full set of credentials to meet the December 2, 2026, deadline for submission. External letters of recommendation must be submitted electronically by December 16.

Your assistance in helping to identify the best candidates is greatly appreciated.

Please note that Rutgers–Newark has also been invited to nominate fifteen candidates. For further details on how to submit a nomination for Newark faculty, please contact Anthony Mayo at (mayoal@rutgers.edu). 

Regards,

Angela