The Board of Directors of the International Liquid Crystal Society (ILCS) would like to announce the introduction of a new prize, the Pierre-Gilles de Gennes ILCS Prize, to be awarded biannually at the International Liquid Crystal Conference. Pierre Gilles de Gennes was one of the great minds in the field of soft matter and received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1991 "for discovering that methods developed for studying order phenomena in simple systems can be generalised to more complex forms of matter, in particular to liquid crystals and polymers". It is thus most appropriate to name the highest-ranking prize of the International Liquid Crystal Society after him for work on Liquid Crystals Across Disciplinary Borders demonstrating the importance of liquid crystal concepts or technologies in various areas of science, technology and society.

Eligibility

The Prize is to recognise an individual who has made significant contributions on Liquid Crystals Across Disciplinary Borders demonstrating the importance of liquid crystal concepts or technologies in various areas of science, technology and society at the highest level.

• A nominator must be an ILCS member in good standing.
• A nominee is not required to be an ILCS member.
• A nominee must not have previously received this Prize.
• Self-nomination is not acceptable.
• The cumulative body of cross-disciplinary research of a candidate must fall within the liquid crystal field.
• The laureate is expected to give a lecture at the International Liquid Crystal Conference (ILCC).

The Prize

• The laureate will receive a medal designed by Pierre Gilles de Gennes' daughter.
• The laureate will be announced at least six weeks before the ILCC begins.
• The Prize will be bestowed and the candidates recognized at the Awards Session at the ILCC, where the laureate will also be invited to present a 30-minute talk.
• The Prize will also include an invitation to attend the Awards Dinner.
• The laureate will receive ILCS Honored membership.

Nomination Procedures

• Nomination materials should be submitted using the on-line Submission Form by the 15th of March of the year of the ILCC at which the Prize will be awarded, and should include the candidate’s particulars such as:
• A recent CV including the complete list of publications and the past honors received;
• Current contact information of the nominee;
• A letter of nomination detailing the scientific contributions and leadership of the candidate;
• At least three letters of endorsement from people other than the nominator.