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AXIS 2027
Awards

Awards

AXIS 2027 presents four awards: Best Paper, Best Student, Industry Impact and the Research Image Competition. Every accepted presenter is considered automatically for the first three awards. The image competition takes a separate entry.

The awards

What each award recognises.

Best Paper Award

For the best paper across the seven scientific tracks.

  • Criteria: originality, technical rigour, clarity, and quality of the presentation
  • Eligibility: any accepted oral or poster paper presented at the conference, in person or remotely
  • Prize: certificate and award, presented on stage

Best Student Award

For the best paper led and presented by a PhD or MSc student, including work in the PGR showcase.

  • Criteria: quality of the research, the student's own contribution, and confidence in presentation and discussion
  • Eligibility: first author and presenter registered as a student, with proof of status
  • Prize: certificate and award, presented on stage

Industry Impact Award

For research with direct application in the field.

  • Criteria: demonstrated or clearly credible impact on practice, safety, cost or emissions, and strength of the evidence
  • Eligibility: papers in any track and in the industry case-study sessions, including academic–industry collaborations
  • Prize: certificate and award, presented on stage

Research Image Competition

For the best image produced in research on energy and mechanics.

  • Criteria: visual impact, scientific interest, and how well the caption explains the science
  • Eligibility: registered delegates, by separate entry through the portal by 15 January 2027
  • Prize: the winning image on the programme cover, a 10-minute talk, and a certificate and award
Judging

How winners are chosen.

Shortlist

Track co-chairs nominate a shortlist using peer-review scores, and session chairs' assessments of the presentations.

Panel

A judging panel of scientific committee members, joined by industry advisory board members for the Industry Impact Award, selects the winners. Judges with a conflict of interest stand aside.

Presentation

Winners are announced and presented with their awards at the conference. The judges' decisions are final, and the panel may choose not to make an award in a given year.

Named award sponsors present the awards but take no part in judging.

Research Image Competition

The winning image becomes the programme cover.

The ECM symposia have used a research image on the programme cover since 2014, and AXIS does the same. The winning image becomes the cover of the conference programme, and its creator gives a 10-minute talk about the science behind it.

Create account to enter →Entry specification

Entry rules

  • Deadline: 15 January 2027. The jury chooses the winner by 19 January, when the programme is published, and the award is presented at the gala dinner
  • How to enter: upload through the portal in your account, with a title and short caption
  • Who can enter: registered delegates, in person or virtual
  • The image: must come from your own research, for example micrographs, simulations, field or lab photographs, or data visualisations. Fully AI-generated images are not eligible
  • Rights: you hold the rights or have permission, and have consent from anyone identifiable in the image
  • Use: by entering, you allow Bon Accord Symposia Ltd to reproduce the image, with credit, in the programme and conference materials
  • Prize: programme cover, a 10-minute talk at the conference, and a certificate and award
Eligibility

Every presented paper is considered for the awards.

Every accepted, registered and presented paper is considered for Best Paper, Best Student and Industry Impact. The image competition closes on 15 January 2027.

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