NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award
Research is the vital expression of humankind’s most important qualities—curiosity and imagination—and is the basis for all knowledge and discovery. To answer fundamental research questions, enable discoveries, and advance human progress, we must engage innovative, unconventional approaches. But employing unconventional approaches in science is risky at best, even more so for early-career researchers. Research conducted by a postdoctoral student often determines the trajectory of their academic career; the opportunity to pursue high-risk questions at this stage is rare, and failures can quickly stifle career prospects. It is therefore imperative that promising young researchers receive support at this crucial phase.
To extend this critical support to early-career scientists, the NOMIS Foundation and Science/AAAS established a partnership in the form of the NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award. Recognizing bold early-career researchers who ask fundamental questions at the intersection of the social and life sciences, the NOMIS & Science Award is granted to scientists who conduct research with an enthusiasm that catalyzes cross-disciplinary collaboration and who take risks to creatively address relevant and exciting questions.
More details, including eligibility and application procedures, can be found at www.science.org/nomis.
People
Jiacheng Miao is a grand prize winner of the 2025/26 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award. He is a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, US.
Postdoctoral fellow
Stanford University
Rachit Dubey is a grand prize winner of the 2025/26 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award. He is assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Assistant professor
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Jasmine Kwasa is the grand prize winner of the 2024 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award. She is a postdoctoral research fellow at Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute in Pittsburgh, US, and 2023–2024 US Fulbright Scholar in Nairobi, Kenya.
Postdoctoral research fellow
Carnegie Mellon University
Jason Griffin is a 2024 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award finalist. He is assistant professor of psychology at the University of Houston, US.
Assistant professor
University of Houston
Tian Christina Zhao is a 2024 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award finalist. She is a research assistant professor at the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, US.
Research assistant professor
University of Washington
About Michael Skinnider Michael Skinnider is the grand prize winner of the 2023 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award. He is assistant professor in the Princeton Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University (US). Michael Skinnider is originally from Victoria, British Columbia (Canada). He earned his […]
Assistant professor
Princeton University
About Isabella Bower Isabella Bower is a 2023 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award finalist. She is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of South Australia. Isabella Bower received her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in architecture from Deakin University and the University of Melbourne (Australia). After completing a PhD in psychology at Deakin University, she was […]
Postdoctoral research fellow
University of South Australia
About George Goshua George Goshua is a 2023 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award finalist. He is assistant professor of medicine (hematology) at the Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven, US). George Goshua received his MD from the University of Kentucky (US), completed his clinical residency and fellowship training in internal medicine and hematology–oncology at Yale […]
Assistant professor of medicine
Yale University
About Bill Thompson Bill Thompson is assistant professor of psychology and cognitive science and director of the Computational Cognitive Science Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley (USA). He is the grand prize winner of the 2022 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award and is leading the project How Reasoning About Other Minds Supports Human Culture: Large-Scale […]
Assistant professor
University of California
University of California, Berkeley
9 of 13 People
News
Why do global crises become background noise, and how do our genetics and environment shape complex human traits? Researchers Rachit Dubey and Jiacheng Miao crossed scientific boundaries to answer these fundamental questions. Their bold, innovative work earned them the 2025/26 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award, which was presented on June 11 at a ceremony […]
What makes a crisis feel “normal”? How can identical twins have completely different health journeys? For innovative work that addresses these questions through cross-field collaboration, Rachit Dubey and Jiacheng Miao are the grand prize winners of the 2025/26 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award. by Mahathi Ramaswamy “Dubey uses state-of-the-art tools from cognitive science to tell […]
June 16, 2025
NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award celebrates groundbreaking research by emerging scientists
The 2024 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award was presented to three exceptional young researchers — Jasmine Kwasa, Jason Griffin and T. Christina Zhao — for their bold, cross-disciplinary approaches at a ceremony on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. The NOMIS & Science Young Explorers were recognized for their innovative research that […]
November 12, 2024
2024 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award winners announced
Science/AAAS and the NOMIS Foundation have announced the winners of the 2024 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award. Jasmine Kwasa is the grand prize winner; Jason Griffin and Tian Christina Zhao are the finalists. The NOMIS & Science Award recognizes bold early-career researchers who ask fundamental questions at the intersection of the social and life sciences. […]
Recognizing young research talent, the 2023 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award was presented to grand prize winner Michael Skinnider and finalists Isabella Bower and George Goshua at a ceremony on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Science Deputy Editor Stella Hurtley; Bill Moran, publisher of the Science family of journals; […]
November 9, 2023
2023 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award winners announced
Science/AAAS and the NOMIS Foundation have announced the winners of the 2023 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award, which recognizes bold early-career researchers who ask fundamental questions at the intersection of the social and life sciences. AI-Based Approach Used to Fight Illicit Designer Drugs Epidemic For developing an artificial intelligence-based approach to identify new designer […]
Recognizing young research talent, the 2022 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award was presented to grand prize winner Bill Thompson and finalists Célia Lacaux and Stephen Kissler at a ceremony on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Bill Moran, publisher of the Science family of journals; Science Deputy Editor Stella Hurtley; […]
Applications are now being accepted for the 2023 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award. The award, established by Science/AAAS and NOMIS, recognizes bold early-career researchers with an MD, PhD or MD/PhD who ask fundamental questions at the intersection of the social and life sciences. It is awarded to scientists who conduct research with an enthusiasm that catalyzes cross-disciplinary collaboration […]
