Graduate Student Research Awards

Outstanding Dissertation Awards

Eligibility Overview

The Outstanding Dissertation Awards (ODA) celebrate exceptional doctoral research at GW. To be eligible, students must be in good standing in a research-based doctoral program that requires a dissertation. All eligible candidates must either be graduating in Spring 2026 or have graduated in Fall or Summer 2025.

Nomination Instructions

To apply, students must be nominated by their dissertation advisor. We encourage interested students to reach out to their faculty advisor as soon as possible if they wish to be nominated. Nomination submission instructions will be shared directly with faculty.

Nomination Deadline: The full nomination package must be submitted by March 1st, 2026.

Nomination Package Materials

1. Curriculum Vitae (CV): Current CV of the nominee.
2. Dissertation Abstract: Maximum of 2 pages, 12-pt font, double-spaced.
3. Impact Statement: 1 page (max 500 words) describing the dissertation’s contribution to the field.
4. List of scholarly products from dissertation research (publications, patents, etc.)
5. Dissertation Manuscript: Draft for Spring 2026 graduates, final version for Fall/Summer 2025 graduates.
6. Nomination letter from dissertation advisor.
7. Additional letter of recommendation from another faculty member or dissertation committee member familiar with the nominee's research.

Award

• Winners of the Outstanding Dissertation Award will receive a cash prize and a certificate of recognition at Innovation Fest, hosted by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research on April 30th, 2026.

Academic Categories

Awards will be given in the following academic categories. The nominator may choose the category that best fits the nomination.

• Biological & Health Sciences
• Humanities & Social Sciences
• Physical and Mathematical Sciences & Engineering

GW Student Inventor of the Year Award

Under the leadership of the Technology Commercialization Office (TCO) within Faculty Affairs, co-sponsorship by the Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship within the Office of the Vice President for Research, and in partnership with the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, this award recognizes a student’s outstanding achievement through inventing technology with potential to transition from academia to the commercial sector. It is presented annually along with a monetary prize to be used for professional development. It provides a tangible symbol of the George Washington University’s commitment to translating research outputs to useful products that impact lives and to training the next generation of innovative researchers.

Faculty, staff and students may nominate a student for these.  The University will honor the recipient at InnovationFest.

Award Criteria

This award is presented annually to a student that invented a new technology and worked with the TCO to patent, license, and transfer the technology to a business partner. To be eligible, students must be enrolled and in good standing as of the endorsement package due date. The committee will consider:

• What has the nominee invented at GW, how innovative is it (incremental improvement vs. paradigm shift), and what is the potential impact on society?
• What is the stage of development of the invention? What milestones are achieved and remaining to reach sales? What resources/funding have been obtained to achieve development milestones (either at GW or commercial partner)?
• What level of involvement has the nominee had in completing developmental milestones, performing customer discovery, and founding, or collaborating with a commercial partner?

Selection Process

The GW Student Inventor of the Year Award is nominated by faculty, staff, or students, endorsed by the TCO and the student’s advisor, and then voted upon by committee.

The process:

1. Nominators must complete the nomination form. Due February 15, 2026.
2. To endorse the nomination, the student’s faculty advisor will be asked to submit the following endorsement package of supporting materials electronically. Due March 1, 2026.

NOTE: Nomination form is available only to users with gwu.edu email addresses.

• GW Student Inventor of the Year Award - Cover Sheet
• Letter in support from student’s faculty advisor;
• Statement of endorsement by TCO;
• In consultation with TCO, a list of granted and pending US patents and patent applications;
• In consultation with TCO, a list of licensees of nominee’s patents, including a short description of the significant patents licensed, development status (on sale, scaling up, clinical trial, prototyping, proof of concept), and nominee’s relationship (Founder, CXO, advisory board member, consultant);
• A statement of impact on public welfare and economic impact or potential impact (jobs created, lives touched) (200 words maximum);
• Optional additional support letters (two maximum); and
• Optional citations to publications related to inventions.

The submission package should be a maximum of 25 pages, not including the required cover sheet and nominee's CV; materials beyond the 25-page limit will not be considered.

More information on how to submit endorsement packages will be provided after the call for nominations has closed.