Research Highlight Science Writing Contest

Why enter?

Develop your skills as a science communicator, showcase your research, and win $500 or dinner for your research group!

Learning to communicate your science to a broad audience of stakeholders is vital to a career in industry or academia. When you enter the Illinois Physics Research Highlight Science Writing Contest, you will receive ongoing peer-editorial assistance as well as professional proofreading from our science communications specialists. Your article will be featured on our website, as well as social media.

Prizes

To recognize outstanding articles, we award three prizes every year. All eligible submissions will be considered for each of the prizes listed below. If two or more graduate students co-author a winning research highlight, the authors will share their prize.

Editors’ Choice Award — $500

One $500-dollar cash prize will be awarded per year.
An editorial review board will select a winner.
The winning entry will be promoted in our department news.

People’s Choice Award — Dinner for your research group

One prize will be awarded per semester (fall and spring). The winner receives a dinner for their entire research group at an approved local restaurant.
Readers will vote for their favorite research highlight(s) on the Illinois Physics website. Encourage friends, family, and colleagues to vote for your article. Submit early to improve your chances of winning!
The winning entry will be promoted in our department news.

Resources

Start by checking out our science-writing resource page and reading previous contest entries. You are also encouraged to seek writing help from research advisers, mentors, and campus resources such as the Writers Workshop. You can expect detailed peer-editing on each draft of your submission and a final professional proofread to polish your article before publication.

Eligibility

The contest is open to currently enrolled and recently graduated (within prior 12 months) Illinois Physics graduate students and to graduate students in other units who are collaborating with physics faculty.
The topic of your submission must be research that has been published or accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal within the past two calendar years. You must be an author on the scientific paper.

Submission Procedure

All submissions must be submitted through the online form. Your article will appear on the website only after it has been reviewed by editorial staff. Watch your university email account for any follow-up questions or instructions from an editor.

By submitting a research highlight through the form, you are acknowledging that:

A primary investigator of the research or your faculty research adviser has reviewed and approved your submission for publication. The form requires that you share the campus email address of the faculty member who reviewed the article prior to your submission.
You have the authority to publicly share the image files uploaded with your submission. By pressing the submit button, you release these files to the Department of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, without surrendering copyright, for use on its website, social media, and print publications.

Submission Requirements

Include a funding acknowledgment at the end of your article, using the specific language required by your funding agency. This information can be found on each sponsor’s website, or you can ask your PI.
Include at least one image to accompany the article on the website. The image may be a photo of the researchers, experimental apparatus, data simulation, or artwork representing the science. Plots and graphs are not preferred for the primary image. Choose an image that will draw an audience to your research highlight.
Check the copyright rules of the peer-reviewed journal if using an image from a peer-reviewed article, to make sure you own the copyright or have permission to use the image.
You are permitted to use generative AI such as Chat-GPT, Claude, or other services. You are required to give a summary of what final content in the piece had a significant AI-generated component. You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and freedom from plagiarism of any AI content you use.
Insert hyperlinks to any works referenced, including your own peer-reviewed article, rather than footnoting. Add carefully chosen links to give key additional information for readers with a deeper interest or background.
Some journals may exercise an embargo prior to publishing. You needn’t wait for the embargo to lift prior to submitting the highlight. Please be assured that we won’t publish your submission until the embargo is lifted.

Once the editor releases your research highlight, it will be considered for both the popular and the editorial prizes. Encourage colleagues and friends to vote for your entry on the Illinois Physics website!