TMRC 2025
Sendai, Japan
28th-30th July, 2025


Neil Smith Award


IEEE Neil Smith Award for Contributions to the Understanding of Magnetic Phenomena in Materials and Devices

The Neil Smith Award will be presented at TMRC this year for the best student contribution to the understanding of magnetic phenomena in Materials and Devices. The IEEE award is in memory of Neil Smith, whose productive industrial research career exemplified a mastery of experimental measurement techniques and theoretical analysis. An award committee will select winners in two subject categories: magnetic data storage and emerging memory/compute. The two winners will each receive a $1,000 cash prize. The winning submissions need to be original contributions that contain an advance in the understanding of a technologically relevant physical system or phenomena. The selection criteria will be based on originality and impact of the material, as well as quality of the poster presentation.

Candidate Eligibility Criteria


  • Undergraduate or Graduate Student
  • Lead contributor and presenter of primarily their own work on a contributed poster
  • Past winners of the award are eligible only if their new work is substantially different from their prior winning submission


Required Submission Materials


  • Expected graduation date, IEEE member number, advisor name, advisor IEEE member number.
  • One-page description of the motivation for the research, the significance of the research results, the applicant's contribution to the work, and the connections to the themes of the award.
  • Letter of support for the student from a research advisor, who must be a member of the IEEE Magnetics Society.


To be considered for the award, first submit your poster digest here. Next, send the required submission materials listed above to tmrc2025@gmail.com . Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you have any questions, please contact the Neil Smith Award Chair, Michael Grobis, at mkgrobis@ieee.org .