The editors of the Journal of Materials Science and Springer announce the creation of the Sapphire Prize to be awarded to the best paper published in the journal during its 2011 Sapphire (45th) Anniversary Year.
The prize includes an honorarium of $10,000 U.S. and an honoring reception at the 2011 Fall Materials Research Society meeting. Additionally Springer will sponsor Open Access to the winning paper, the three second prize winners, and all twelve finalist papers. The three second prize winners will receive $1,000 U.S. each.
Journal of Materials Science
To qualify, papers must be published in 2011, and all papers submitted through the deadline of 1 July 2011 (excluding those by Journal of Materials Science editors) will be considered for the prize. One finalist will be selected and highlighted each month.
"The Editorial Board and I hope this prize will provide the best current research with the recognition and attention it deserves, in the same way that the research community has given the Journal of Materials Science the recognition it deserves," said C. Barry Carter, Editor-in-Chief.
Alex Greene, Editorial Director Engineering at Springer, added, "This is the largest such prize we know of in materials science. But the prize is more than the money. Access to the twelve finalist papers will be made open throughout 2011, and we will announce these winners in an ongoing basis throughout the year. We'll also have a ceremony honoring the winners at the Materials Research Society 2011 Fall meeting next year in Boston."
The Journal of Materials Science, published by Springer, is one of the most frequently cited journals in Materials Science (as measured by Thomson Scientific). More information can be found at springer.com/JMaterialsScience, and content at SpringerLink.com/content/0022-2461.