Young Membrane Scientist Award

The NAMS Young Membrane Scientist Awards will be presented annually to outstanding individuals who are starting their professional careers in membrane science and technology.

For 2026, three NAMS Young Membrane Scientist Awards will be awarded.  Recipients will give an oral presentation during a special award session at the 2026 ICOM.  The awards will consist of a $500 award to the recipient, free registration to the 2026 ICOM, a free one-year membership in NAMS, a hotel room for the duration of the meeting at the conference hotel, and a commemorative plaque.

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award details

This award is open to all Membrane Scientists within 5 years after completion of the PhD degree, including post docs, faculty and industrial positions who have not received a NAMS Young Membrane Scientist award previously.

Application materials (submitted as one electronic PDF file)

The following items must be submitted as a single PDF file or the application will be rejected:

  • Young membrane scientist nomination form: Download the Application Form here

  • Nomination letter by a current member of NAMS; each NAMS member may provide only one nomination letter for the NAMS Young Membrane Scientist Award.

Application packages must be received by December 31, 2025 per e-mail to awards@membranes.org. Applications will be reviewed by the NAMS Awards Committee. Award decisions will be made as soon as possible and before the deadline for abstract submission for the 2025 NAMS Meeting.

All Awards Committee votes will be independently tallied by the Tellers Committee. If one or more Tellers Committee members also are Awards Committee members, all such members will be replaced by Board appointees for the purpose of validating the results of award voting only.

Award recipients

  • A smiling man with short dark hair, earrings, wearing a blue shirt, standing outdoors with a cloudy sky in the background.

    DR. THIEN (JAMES) TRAN

    2025 Awardee

  • Portrait of a young man with dark curly hair, beard, and mustache, wearing a blue button-up shirt, smiling against a plain dark background.

    DR. MAHMOUD ATIF ABDULHAMID

    2025 Awardee

  • Professional headshot of a man wearing glasses, a dark suit, white shirt, and a striped tie, smiling against a plain light background.

    DR. TAEHOON LEE

    2025 Awardee

  • Portrait of a young man with black hair, glasses, wearing a white shirt and a black lanyard, standing against a wooden background.

    Dr. Kecheng Guan

    2024 Awardee

  • Dr. Joshua Moon

    2024 Awardee

  • A smiling man with red hair and a beard, wearing a blue suit and a patterned tie, standing in a laboratory.

    Dr. Samuel Lounder

    2024 Awardee

  • A young man with short dark hair, glasses, wearing a navy suit, white shirt, and blue plaid tie, smiling outdoors with green blurred foliage in the background.

    Dr. Steven T. Weinman

    2023 Awardee

  • A young man wearing glasses and a white lab coat, standing indoors in front of large windows.

    Dr. Jie Shen

    2023 Awardee

  • Portrait of a young man with glasses smiling outdoors, with modern buildings in the background.

    Dr. Lingxiang Zhu

    2023 Awardee

  • A man with long curly hair, glasses, and a beard, smiling in a laboratory or office setting.

    Dr. Anthony Straub

    2022 Awardee

  • Close-up of a man with dark hair, a beard, and wearing a blue and white striped dress shirt, against a plain white background.

    Dr. Luis Francisco Villalobos

    2022 Awardee

  • A woman with long brown hair, glasses, and a gray blazer smiling in an indoor setting with shelves and decorative items in the background.

    Dr. Christine Duval

    2022 Awardee