Davidge Award

The Davidge Award is an annual prize for the best literature review by a PhD student on an innovative topic in ceramics.

The award is run and judged by the Editors of Advances in Applied Ceramics: Structural, Functional and Bioceramics (AAC), the specialist ceramics journal of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), and is open to postgraduates studying for a materials science and engineering related qualification at any academic institution worldwide.

The Award commemorates the distinguished contributions to the science and application of ceramics made by the late Roger Davidge (1936–97). During a career spent largely at AERE Harwell during the laboratory’s heyday, and also at Leeds and Oxford universities. He pioneered the introduction of fracture mechanics concepts to ceramics. His research in areas that included fracture, toughness, fatigue, thermal shock and the statistics of mechanical fracture made an outstanding contribution to knowledge on these subjects.

Entries must be in English and review a topic relevant to current research in ceramics science and engineering. The judges will assess both the technical content (justification for the review; coverage and interpretation of the literature) and style (use of English and structure) of each review.

Candidates wishing to be considered for the Award should submit an extended abstract and outline of the review. From these entries, the judges will invite a short-list of up to 10 candidates to submit full reviews.

Submissions should be emailed as a single Word or PDF file to: [email protected]

Initial submissions must include:

• a 700–1000 word extended abstract justifying the topic chosen and summarizing the scope and conclusions
• an outline structure for the review consisting of a list of section and subsection headings
• a list of 10 key references
• an official statement of support from the candidate’s supervisor
• full contact details and (if desired) a 150 word biographical note
• a signed declaration that the review is the candidate’s own unaided work and is not being considered for publication elsewhere

Entries that do not fulfill these requirements will not be considered

Full instructions for preparation of the full review will be provided with the invitation, but it is important to note the following points when planning your entry.

The maximum length of reviews is 7000 words, and the scope must be carefully considered in view of this restriction. Focused reviews of novel or developing areas are preferable to broader reviews of areas covered by existing reviews or monographs.

A literature review is not the same as a thesis introduction. The review must be self-contained and critical (i.e. it should comment on and interpret the literature) and must not refer to unpublished work. Basic theory and established knowledge should be covered briefly, with references to existing reviews and textbooks. The review should focus on unresolved questions and conclude by identifying areas where further work is required to advance the field.

Credit will be given for the effective use of illustrations to convey key concepts and to compare and synthesize data from different sources.

The judges’ decision is final and absolute in all respects. Publication in AAC may be subject to the completion of revisions recommended by the judges or specialist reviewers. Once a review has been accepted, it is the candidate’s responsibility to obtain any necessary permission to reproduce figures or other material for which he or she does not hold copyright.

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