Prizes & Awards

John H. Dillon Medal

    To recognize outstanding research accomplishments by young polymer physicists who have demonstrated exceptional research promise early in their careers. Recognition consists of $2,000, up to $1,000 allowance for travel to the meeting of the Society at which the award is being presented, a bronze medallion, and a certificate citing the accomplishments of the recipient. It will be presented annually.

Deadline: June 1, 2023

Establishment & Support
     The medal was established in 1983 by The American Physical Society and the Division of Polymer Physics (DPOLY) to honor the legacy of John H. Dillon in the year after he passed. Dillon (Ph.D. Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1931) joined the research group at Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, where he remained until 1946. During his career at Firestone, he was involved in aspects of the Manhattan Project and U.S. Government synthetic rubber program. Notably, Dillon helped to found APS DPOLY in 1944 (then known as the Division of High Polymer Physics, DHPP) as the second oldest division in the APS. And, Dillon served as the first APS DPOLY Division Chair. As an active member in DPOLY and in the Society of Rheology, Dillon's research spanned aspects of polymer rheology, morphology, and mechanical properties.

     Beginning in 1997, sponsorship of the medal was assumed by Elsevier, Oxford, UK., publishers of the journal, Polymer.

Nomination Guidelines

  • Eligibility: The nominees must disclose both the year and month in which their Ph.D. was conferred in their nomination package CV. Nominees who received their terminal degree (e.g. Ph.D.) less than 12 y before the nomination deadline are eligible. In the case of research career breaks due to military service, illness, caring for a child, dependent, or family member, eligibility will be extended by one year extension per life event with a maximum of two (2) events. In such cases, the nominator should send a separate one-sentence letter to the DPOLY Chair requesting an eligibility extension due to a research career break without specific details (do not include this information in the nomination letter). When nominated in year 2023, the candidate with no eligibility exceptions must have received their Ph.D. on or after June 1, 2011.
  • Letters of Support: For each award or prize, the APS allows each individual to write only one (1) letter of support (nominating or supporting) per award per year.

View APS website for additional Eligibility and Nomination Information »

2023 Recipient

Vivek Sharma

Vivek Sharma
University of Illinois at Chicago

"For fundamental advances toward a molecular-level understanding of non-equilibrium polymer dynamics and for developing methods to accurately measure extensional deformation of polymeric materials and interfacial flows."

Past Recipients

  • 2022: Jian Qin
  • 2021: Bryan W. Boudouris
  • 2020: Rodney D. Priestley
  • 2019: Zahra Fakhraai
  • 2018: Bradley D. Olsen
  • 2017: Moon J. Park
  • 2016: Thomas H. Epps, III
  • 2015: Chinedum O. Osuji
  • 2014: Ryan C. Hayward
  • 2013: Mahesh K. Mahanthappa
  • 2012: Rachel A. Segalman
  • 2011: Raffaele Mezzenga
  • 2010: Yueh-Lin "Lynn" Loo
  • 2009: Venkat Ganesan
  • 2008: Kari Dalnoki-Veress
  • 2007: Darrin J. Pochan
  • 2006: Kenji Urayama
  • 2005: Jan Genzer
  • 2004: Marcus Muller
  • 2003: Helmut Strey
  • 2002: Timothy J. Bunning
  • 2001: Klaus Schmidt-Rohr
  • 2000: Wesley R. Burghardt
  • 1999: Anne M. Mayes
  • 1998: Spiros H. Anastasiadis
  • 1997: Nitash P. Balsara
  • 1996: Julia A. Kornfield
  • 1995: Stephen Z. D. Cheng
  • 1994: Scott T. Milner
  • 1993: Mark D. Ediger
  • 1992: Glenn H. Fredrickson
  • 1991: Kenneth S. Schweizer
  • 1990: Jean-Michel Guenet
  • 1989: Frank S. Bates
  • 1988: Dale S. Pearson
  • 1987: Matthew Tirrell
  • 1986: Murugappan Muthukumar
  • 1985: Andrew J. Lovinger
  • 1984: Charles C. Han