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The Helios prize open for applications

The Helios prize is awarded for graduate work in sustainable energy or energy efficiency.

The Helios prize is made possible thanks to a generous donation from Cambridge alumnus John Firth. He approached the Department specifically to set up the prize in honour of graduate work in sustainable energy or energy efficiency, and asked that the prize be named after Helios, because the world’s renewable energy is fundamentally driven by solar energy.

Professor Richard Prager comments on the prize: “It’s wonderful to have a prize like this dedicated to research in sustainable energy and energy efficiency – a topic of great magnitude and significance, both to the University and to the whole of society.”

The medal itself was crafted by Alistair Ross, who was at the time the Manager of Design and Technical Services at the Department of Engineering, who machined it on-site using a 3D pantograph, drawing inspiration for the design from a Helios coin loaned to him by the Fitzwilliam Museum, believed to date from the 2nd to 1st century BC.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

  • Be current graduate students under the supervision of the Degree Committee for the Faculty of Engineering; AND
  • Have completed no more than twelve terms of their current course of research since admission as a graduate student; AND
  • Not have been awarded the Helios Prize in a previous year.

Subject

The prize is awarded for a paper on some subject, selected by the candidate, on a topic under the broad heading of renewable energy or energy efficiency. This paper must have been accepted for publication in an established or learned journal. No applicant may submit more than one paper.

Deadline and mode of application

The paper must be received by the Engineering Degree Committee Secretary no later than the deadline of 15 November 2024. In addition to the paper, applicants must submit a CV, and a covering letter which should include a statement describing their contribution to the paper. The mode of submission should be by email attachment to graduate-studies@eng.cam.ac.uk; the subject line should clearly specify that an entry for the Helios Prize is attached. There is no application form.

Assessment

Applications will be subject to an initial review by the Chair of the Engineering Degree Committee and the Head of one of the Engineering Department Divisions, to establish the relevance of the topics and that the work is of a high quality. The award shall be made by the Head of the Department of Engineering and two judges working in relevant fields. They may determine that no entry is of sufficient merit to be granted the award, or that the award should be divided between more than one entrant.

Total award

The value of the award is Can$5,000 and varies depending on the exchange rate, but is expected to be in the region of £2,500. There is also a medal to be awarded; in cases of the prize being divided between more than one entrant, the judges will determine who should receive the medal.

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