2027 Discovery and Innovation Awards: Nominations Open Until Jan. 15

Nominations Open for 2027 Discovery and Innovation Awards: Celebrating Excellence in Research and Scholarship

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) is calling for nominations for the 2027 Discovery and Innovation Awards, a prestigious recognition for outstanding individuals across various disciplines. These awards honor those who have made significant contributions through research and scholarship, public engagement, program coordination, and mentorship of emerging researchers and artists.

David Schwebel, vice president for research, emphasized the awards’ significance: “We want to recognize outstanding researchers, scholars, and artists from every discipline. We are proud to celebrate the faculty, staff, and students whose research and creative scholarship advance knowledge, address societal challenges, and strengthen our communities.”

Submit a nomination by Jan. 15, 2027

This year, the Discovery and Innovation Awards have undergone a restructuring to more effectively highlight achievements across disciplines. Key modifications to the awards include:

Simplified nomination process allowing self-nominations from faculty and staff.

Nominations will be categorized into three disciplinary groups for the Early Career Scholar of the Year, Leadership in Research Award, Postdoctoral Research Scholar/Fellow Excellence Award, and Graduate and Professional Student Research Excellence Award:
- Arts, humanities, law, and qualitative social sciences
- Natural, physical, life, engineering, computational, and mathematical sciences; and quantitative social sciences
- Health, biomedical, and clinical sciences

The consolidation of separate graduate and professional student research awards into a single Graduate and Professional Student Research Excellence Award.

Renaming of the Faculty Communicating Ideas Award to Faculty Newsmaker of the Year Award.

Broadened disciplinary categories and increased recognition for arts and humanities in the Early Career Scholar of the Year and Leadership in Research Award, replacing the Distinguished Achievement in Arts and Humanities Research Award.

The merging of the Distinguished Achievement in Publicly Engaged Research Award with the Faculty Leadership Award in Community Engagement, offered by the Office of Community Engagement.

Ongoing recognition of mid-career faculty excellence through the Iowa Mid-Career Faculty Scholar Award, managed by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.

View the full list of awards and submit a nomination now

Winners among students and postdoctoral researchers will be honored at the Celebration of Student and Postdoctoral Researchers on March 30, 2027. Faculty and staff awardees will be recognized at the University of Iowa Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony on May 4, 2027.

The awards are supported by the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Graduate College, and the Office of Undergraduate Research. For inquiries, contact Lauren Galliart, assistant to the vice president.