Awards

Award Information

Awards range from $1,000-1,500. Co-presenters will split the prize in each respective category.

In keeping with the interdisciplinary spirit of this campus-wide event, PRD judges will evaluate presentations primarily on how effectively they communicate their research to a non-specialist audience. Judges include undergraduate and graduate alumni, faculty, staff, and members of the community. Twelve awards will be given for three-minute video presentations. Another six awards will be given to recognize presenters with a submitted video and who presented during the on-campus Showcase.  

To be eligible for an award, videos should be three minutes or less. Presenters who received an award at a previous PRD are eligible to win awards again at future PRDs.

For more information on the evaluation criteria, you can view these PRD judges' rubrics:

General judging rubric
Campus Impact Award
Graduate Student Impact Award
Innovation Award
Princeton University Library Award
Sustainability Research Award

Below are descriptions of awards for 2024:

All winners and videos

View award winners and videos from past Princeton Research Days:

Orange & Black Awards

Awarded to presentations that receive the highest scores in the combined video + Showcase presentation category among all submissions. Presenters must participate in the live Showcase. Awardees will have their presentation featured on the PRD website and the presenter names will be announced during the live event. Five awards will be made, valued at $1,500 each.

Outstanding Presentation Awards

Awarded to presentations that receive the highest scores among all video submissions. Awardees will be featured during the live Awards Celebration and will have the opportunity to discuss their research with a moderator. Five awards will be made, valued at $1,500 each.

FitzRandolph Gate Award

A symbol of the University's openness to the worldwide community, the FitzRandolph Gate Award represents the presentation that is considered the “fan favorite” by the Princeton community.  Two awards valued at $1,000 each are given for the video presentation and Showcase presentation with the most votes received.

Sponsored Awards

Campus Impact Award

Sponsored by Campus Life 

Recognizes one presentation by an undergraduate student, graduate student or post-doctoral researcher whose research positively impacts the Princeton University campus community in some way. In particular, research that has a demonstrable, meaningful and potentially lasting impact on some or all campus populations can be considered for this award. This could mean positively impacting the life of other students; illuminating something important about campus or certain campus populations that may lead to action; responding to an important campus need; and/or research that connects or impacts University community members across roles.

Award value: $1,500

Graduate Student Impact Award

Sponsored by the Graduate School

Recognizes one presentation by a graduate student whose presentation clearly communicates the potential positive impact their research has on enriching or improving our culture, community or society. The emphasis on clearly communicating the “potential” impact of one’s research to a general audience indicates that presentations will be evaluated on effective communication skills, not the merit of finished outcome.

Award value: $1,500

Innovation Awards

Sponsored by the Office of Innovation

One award will be given to an undergraduate research presentation, and another award will be given to a graduate student, postdoc or early career researcher presentation.

This award recognizes the impact that Princeton research and scholarship can have on the greater world. Impact can take many different forms (social impact, technical impact, community impact) and can be on large or small communities. The judges will evaluate the research on the clarity of the proposition value presented, and the proposition value is defined by the benefit that a customer or user group will receive from the idea proposed.

Award value: $1,000

Princeton University Library (PUL) Awards

Sponsored by the Princeton University Library

Recognizes one presentation by an undergraduate student and another by a graduate student or postdoc who has clearly articulated thoughtful or innovative use of Library resources and services.

These awards would recognize research projects that make innovative use of library resources and services. For example, a project might use Special Collections materials, online exhibits, digitization services, support for research data management, GIS and maps, or statistical software support. A project might actively include partnership with a librarian, a subject specialist or a curator. A project might build on the Library’s commitment to surface hidden collections through curation, digitization, online exhibits and visualizations.

Award value: $1,000

Sustainability Research Award

Sponsored by the Office of Sustainability

Recognizes one presentation by an undergraduate student, graduate student, or post-doctoral researcher whose research positively advances Princeton University’s commitment to sustainability on campus and beyond. In particular, the Sustainability Research Award prioritizes research that uses the campus as a living laboratory for sustainability problem-solving or focuses on sustainability issues at local, regional, or global scales. The research in sustainability can span various disciplines, including social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, and engineering, and can impact a range of subjects, such as greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, responsible design, waste reduction, environmental justice, healthy habitats, stormwater management, food and agriculture, and transport.

Award value: $1,500

 

Following the Awards Celebration, all submitted presentations are viewable by the general public on the PRD website and shared through University-sponsored channels.