Call for nominations: CATCON Outstanding Doctoral Research Award 2026

Eligibility Criteria

The candidate must have completed PhD from a recognized Indian institute/university.

The research work must be done in field that is aligned with the technical interests of IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society and the overarching theme of the conference

The candidate’s dissertation/thesis must have been successfully defended in between Jan,01 2024 to October,15 2026.

Candidates must be able to attend in person and register the IEEE CATCON-2026.

The dissertation/thesis must be submitted in English.

Eligibility limitations adhere to IEEE Policy 4.4.H – “Individuals serving on any board or committee involved at any stage of the recipient selection or approval process for an award shall be ineligible to receive, or act as a nominator or reference for that award. This conflict-of-interest limitation shall apply to all awards given by the IEEE or any of its organizational units.” The decision of the Organizing Committee CATCON 2026 will be final in any circumstances.

Nomination process

Self-Nominations for the CATCON Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award 2026 should be submitted using the Online Self-Nomination Form. No other submission methods are allowed, including via email.

Selection Criteria

The application will be evaluated based on their contributions, the potential impact of the research on both theory and practice, and the quality and relevance of publications produced during the Doctoral Research.

All submitted nomination forms (submitted through Google Form) will be reviewed by the selection committee. A merit list will be prepared based on the evaluation.

Following Information are required to be submitted using the Google Form

• Name of the Candidate
• Name of PhD Supervisor(s)
• Institute/University Name
• Date of PhD Registration (Proof of Date of PhD Registration)
• Date of PhD Defense (Proof of Defense)
• Upload PhD Degree or Provisional Degree Certificate
• Abstract of Thesis (maximum 350 words)
• Relevance of the PhD work with Technical Tracks of the Conference (maximum 150 words)
• Number of SCI Journal Publications related to PhD (A single PDF containing first page of all SCI Journal publications)
• Number of Patent granted/filed (A single PDF with all patent certificates/documents)
• ORCID and Google Scholar ID
• PPT with maximum 12 slides including Title and Thanks slides (Maximum Size: 2 MB, Format: PDF)
• Letter of Recommendation from PhD Supervisor

The top three candidates from the merit list will be invited to present their research before a panel during IEEE CATCON 2026 in Dhanbad. The winner will be honored during the valedictory function with a cash prize and a certificate. It is mandatory for the selected candidates to register for and attend IEEE CATCON 2026 in person.

Registration

There is no additional fee for nomination.
It is mandatory for the candidates called for presentation to register in CATCON 2026.
No TA/DA will be given.