Applied Physics Letters is committed to recognizing the next generation of global scientists who will shape the future of applied physics. To this end, we have established the first annual APL Rising Stars Collection and APL Rising Star Award to bring visibility to the impressive work of early career principal investigators. Inclusion in the collection will be more selective than the journal as a whole so as to showcase notable contributions. The award winner and collection will be highly visible through promotion by APL.

Eligibility: The primary principal investigator (PI) must be within 10 years of their PhD defense date (not including career breaks such as family or medical leave) upon manuscript submission. The PI is primarily responsible for the origination of the project, for its overall direction, and for leading the interpretation of the results. The scope of the collection encompasses the entire scope of the journal.

How to submit: Submit for consideration as normal through the online submission system. During submission, answer “Yes” to the question of eligibility of the primary PI and provide the date of their PhD defense.

Selection process: The selection process starts in July of each calendar year. To be considered for the collection and award, papers must have been accepted between July 1 of the prior year and June 30 of the current year. Only papers rated highly by the Reviewers and/or Editors will be considered. A Selection Committee formed of APL Editorial Advisory Board members will choose the papers to be included in the collection and will identify the winner of the APL Rising Star award. The collection and award winner will be announced in the Fall.

APL Rising Star Award: The award winner will be announced in a press release, invited to write an APL Perspective on their field of expertise, and receive an honorarium of 1500 USD.

More info: Papers will be published as normal when they are ready in a regular issue of the journal. If selected for inclusion in the collection, papers will also populate a virtual collection page.

We look forward to your submissions to the APL Rising Stars Collection! If you have any questions, please contact us at apl-journalmanager@aip.org.