The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) invites nominations for the 2027 Discovery and Innovation Awards. The awards honor individuals from a wide range of disciplines who have conducted superior research and scholarship, engaged with public audiences, coordinated complex research programs, and mentored the next generation of researchers, scholars, and artists.
“We want to recognize outstanding researchers, scholars, and artists from every discipline,” said David Schwebel, vice president for research. “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, OVPR restructured the Discovery and Innovation Awards to better celebrate research and scholarship across all disciplines.
Key changes include:
- The nomination process and requirements are simpler, and faculty and staff may now self-nominate.
- Nominations 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 will be awarded in three disciplinary groups:
- Arts, humanities, law, and qualitative social sciences
- Natural, physical, life, engineering, computational, and mathematical sciences; and quantitative social sciences
- Health, biomedical, and clinical sciences
- Separate graduate and professional student research awards were consolidated into the Graduate and Professional Student Research Excellence Award.
- The Faculty Newsmaker of the Year Award is the updated Faculty Communicating Ideas Award.
- Expanded disciplinary categories and increased representation for the arts and humanities in the Early Career Scholar of the Year and the Leadership in Research Award replace The Distinguished Achievement in Arts and Humanities Research Award.
- The Distinguished Achievement in Publicly Engaged Research Award was merged with the Faculty Leadership Award in Community Engagement, presented by the Office of Community Engagement.
- Excellence in research and scholarship among mid-career faculty members will continue to be recognized through the Iowa Mid-Career Faculty Scholar Award, which is overseen by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.
View the full list of awards and submit a nomination now
Student and postdoctoral winners will be recognized at the Celebration of Student and Postdoctoral Researchers on March 30, 2027. Faculty and staff award winners will be recognized at the University of Iowa Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony on May 4, 2027.
The Office of the Vice President for Research, the Graduate College, and the Office of Undergraduate Research sponsor the awards. Direct questions to Lauren Galliart, assistant to the vice president.