John Coburn and Harold Winters Award
About the Award
The PSTD Coburn & Winters Student Research Award recognizes meritorious achievements by students in an area fostered and encouraged by the Plasma Science and Technology Division, while also encouraging student participation in the Division. The John Coburn and Harold Winters Award is given in recognition of outstanding research achievements and an oral presentation given by the Student Merit Award finalist at the AVS International Symposium.
Eligibility and how to apply
The following materials are required to apply for the Award:
A curriculum vitae of the nominee
A one-page letter of recommendation from the student's research advisor/mentor,
A copy of the nominee's submitted abstract for the AVS International Symposium.
An eligible nominee must have their abstract accepted to the AVS International Symposium for the year in which they are nominated and be a registered student at the time of the earliest deadline for abstract submission. Only one student from a given research group may be nominated in each year and previous winners of the Coburn and Winters Award are not eligible.
All materials should be submitted on the awards application link below and must be received on or before May 18, 2026.
Selection Process
A maximum of five (5) Student Merit Award finalists will be selected by the PSTD Executive/Awards Committee based on technical/scientific merit and originality of research. Preference will be given to senior graduate students who are close to graduation. Each Merit Award finalist will receive a $500 cash award and must present their research in a private session to the PSTD Awards Committee. This private presentation will be in addition to the regularly scheduled PSTD oral session at the AVS Symposium. The Coburn and Winters Award winner will be selected from Merit Award Finalists based on the quality of both their research (50%) and oral presentation skills (50%). The overall winner will receive an additional $500 cash prize and certificate.
Winner Announcement and Award Ceremony
The winner(s) of the Coburn & Winters Award will be announced during the PSTD Annual Business Meeting at the AVS International Symposium, or at a time determined by the Executive Committee. The award certificate will be presented to the recipient.
Awards Application
List of Recipients
2025 - Sandra Eliza Kozuch
2024 - Norleakvisoth Lim
2023 - Antoine Ronco
2022 - Annaëlle Demaude
2021 - Xia (Gary) Sang
2020 - Ryan Gasvoda
2019 - Adam Pranda
2018 - Tahsin Faraz
2017 - Hyun-Joon Roh
2016 - Souvik Ghosh
2015 - Hu Li
2014 - Bastien Bruneau
2014 - Paul Rumbach
2013 - Rohan Chaukulkar
2012 - Joe Lee
2011 - Harald B. Profijt
2010 - Bhavib Jariwala
2009 - Yang Yang
2008 - Emile Despiau-Pujo
2007 - Joydeep Guha
2006 - Lin Xu
2005 - Joseph Végh
2004 - Jun Belen
2003 - Jan Benedikt
2002 - Lin Sha
2001 - Nicholas Fuller
2000 - Siva Kanakasabapathy
1999 - Erwin Kessels
1998 - Catherine Labelle
1997 - Mikhail Malyshev
1996 - Jane Chang
1995 - Not Given
1994 - Bruce Kellerman