Nomination criteria and process

A prize committee assembled by the University of Zurich selects the laureates. The committee's decisions are final and cannot be appealed.

Nominations may only be submitted by the leadership (e.g., President, Vice Presidents) of international academic (not-for-profit) institutions. Both individual scientists, teams or groups of scientists working independently on the same topic (up to 3 people) may be nominated. The nomination of women and minorities is encouraged to ensure equality and diversity.

A nominating institution may submit up to two proposals. Self-nominations are not accepted. In 2026, the prize will be awarded only for chemistry.

The nomination package must include the following documents:

  1. A nomination letter (3 pages max.) that explicitly addresses why the proposed candidate(s) meet(s) the prize criterion of having conducted “foundational, pioneering research of societal benefit”. The letter must be signed by the President or the Vice President.
     
  2. A maximum of 3 publications illustrating the nature and excellence of the candidate’s research. Please include the entire text of the publication, not merely the citation.
     
  3. A short CV (2 pages max.) of the proposed candidate, CVs for all nominees in the case of a group nomination.
     
  4. A list of other scientists who, in addition to the nominee(s), should be considered for this award because they have made crucial contributions in collaboration with the nominee(s) or because they have made related observations independently; please explain in detail.

Nominations should be submitted via the application form below.

The deadline for nominations is: Friday, March 6, 2026, 17:00 (CEST)

Failure to comply with any of the above conditions leads to automatic rejection of a nomination.

Deadline for nominations has expired

Thank you for your interest in the Gretener-Thürlemann Prize. The deadline for nominations has expired. We will inform you about the award in due course.

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If you have any questions, Jennifer Wyss will be happy to help at gtprizenoSpam@uzhfoundation.noSpamch.

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Jennifer Wyss
UZH Foundation

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