Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa thesis award

The Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa Thesis Award is awarded annually to the author of an outstanding PhD thesis in physics, defended at a Dutch University in the previous year. The winner receives a sum of € 5,000 that can be spent as wished, together with a statue, and is invited to present their work at NWO Physics. The nomination deadline is 1 October. More information about the procedure can be found below.

About

thesis-awardThe Ehrenfest‑Afanassjewa Thesis Award honours the outstanding scientific excellence in The Netherlands by recognizing the best PhD thesis in physics defended at a Dutch university in the previous year. The award highlights exceptional early‑career researchers whose work pushes the boundaries of physics. The prize is awarded annually by the Dutch Physics Council and presents an important recognition for delivering a thesis of exceptional quality, scientific rigor, originality, and impact.

Who to nominate?

A nominee should be:

  • A physicist who defended their PhD thesis at a Dutch university in the period1 September 2025 – 1 September 2026,
  • An exceptional researcher whose thesis demonstrates scientific depth, creativity, and a clear contribution to the field with groundbreaking PhD research within the Dutch physics community,
  • A physicist working in any subfield of physics: theoretical or experimental;
  • A role model for scientific excellence, embodying the spirit of curiosity and rigor associated with Paul Ehrenfest and Tatiana Afanassjewa.

Why nominate your PhD student?

Submitting a nomination is a meaningful way to give your PhD student national recognition for their work.
The winner receives:

  • A financial award of €5,000, freely spendable,
  • An official prize, awarded during the NWO Physics conference in Veldhoven;
  • A platform for national visibility and recognition, including an invitation to present their research at NWO Physics.

Winning the award strengthens their and your visibility at a national level. It also acknowledges scientific leadership, originality, and impact. Furthermore, it supports career advancement of your PhD student. If someone in your network has produced an extraordinary thesis, nominating them helps their work shine.

How to nominate?

The nomination consists of three documents, which should be submitted before 1 Oct 2026 to Naomi Chrispijn via dpc@nwo.nl:

  1. CV of the candidate,
  2. Digital copy of the thesis;
  3. Supporting letter written by the advisor.
    • Maximum length: 2 pages
    • The letter should contain two signatures: signed by both the advisor and the department head/institute director or equivalent
    • Explicitly address the following five aspects in in separate paragraphs:
      1. the impact of the work on the subdiscipline and the contribution of the PhD student
      2. the new insights obtained by the research,
      3. the originality of the research method,
      4. the scientific breadth of knowledge displayed by the candidate, in combination with their in-depth scientific understanding;
      5. the clarity of presentation of the results.

Selection procedure

Selection procedure

The selection of the prize winner is in the hands of a high-level jury of 5–6 members, appointed by the executive board of the Dutch Physics Council. A board member may be part of the jury. A jury member will be recused if one of the candidates is their own PhD student. Membership of the jury is for a three-year period and can be renewed once. The executive board of the Dutch Physics Council decides on the award of the prize based on the advice of the jury. The selection procedure is confidential and not open to correspondence.

After an initial check to ensure that the research of the candidate does indeed belong to the field of physics, the jury assesses the theses against the following four criteria:

  1. new insights,
  2. originality,
  3. the scientific breadth of knowledge;
  4. clarity.

Jury

The jury for the 2026 Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa thesis award includes:

Former jury members: Robbert Dijkgraaf (Princeton University), Wim van Saarloos (LEI), Nynke Dekker (TUD), Theo Rasing (RU), Barbara Terhal (QuTech), Daan Frenkel (Cambridge University), Herman Verlinde (Princeton University), Cristiane de Morais Smith (UU), Roel Dullens (RU), Gloria Platero (Materials Science Institute of Madrid, at the CSIC)

Laureates Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa thesis award

Year

WinnersHonourable mention
2025Kevin Peters (AMOLF)–
2024Xiaofei Guo (UvA)Rui Yang (UT) and Lukas Veldman (TUD)
2023Jesse Slim (AMOLF/TU/e)Vincent Debets (TU/e)
2022Carmem Maia Gilardoni (RUG)Andrea Cordaro (AMOLF) and Brian Moser (Nikhef)
2021Anne Meeussen (AMOLF/LEI)Guoji Zheng (QuTech/TUD), Melissa van Beekveld (RU/Nikhef) and Nico Hendrickx (QuTech/TUD)
2020 Koen Bastiaans (LEI)Mario Avellaneda (AMOLF), Jorinde van de Vis (Nikhef) and Andreas Wallucks (TUD)

Who were Ehrenfest and Afanassjewa?

The award is named after Paul Ehrenfest (1880–1933) and Tatiana Afanassjewa (1876–1964), two influential physicists. Paul Ehrenfest contributed to the foundations of quantum physics and was an inspiring teacher and mentor of a string of outstanding PhD students at Leiden University. Tatiana Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa, contributed to the foundations of statistical physics. Together they made their home a place where students were encouraged to boldly explore new ideas.

Paul & Tatiana Ehrenfest. Credits: Martin J. Klein

Learn more about Ehrenfest and Afanassjewa

Sponsoring

We gratefully acknowledge Stichting Physica and the Lorentz Fund for their joint sponsorship of the prize.

Contact

If you have questions about the prize or nomination form, please contact the secretary of the award:

Dr Naomi Chrispijn, via dpc@nwo.nl +31 (0)70 349 4063