Eligibility

This prize is open to members of the IOP, WCSIM and the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) who are in the early stages of their career, typically within 10-15 years of graduation or of commencing their relevant employment. This excludes instances where career breaks have been taken during this time period for any personal reason, e.g. parental, sickness, caring leave etc.

The essay should be a maximum 1,000 words, in a PDF file, and should be written so that it can be understood by the general public. The title of the essay for 2026 is: ‘What advances in technology might make delivery of radiotherapy easier and cheaper in low-resource settings?’

Applicants are required to declare how AI has been used in the production of their essays. Whilst AI can be a supportive tool in spell-checking and structuring work, essay content should be original and of the author’s creation. If you have not used AI, please do declare this also.

The IOP and WCSIM will each nominate a judge.

The prize

A prize of £1,000 and a gold medal will be presented to the winner at one of WCSIM’s social events, usually the October banquet. The winning essay will be published in WCSIM’s regular news bulletin and placed on the websites of both organisations.

Apply now

To apply, applicants are asked to create an account on Award Force and to fill in the form, IOP and WCSIM Joint Essay Prize under Special Interest Group Prizes.

The deadline for submissions is 23.59 on Friday 31 July 2026.

Any queries may be directed to membernetworks@iop.org.