Spotlighting the Awards Given Out at ISMS 2026

The 79th International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy is set to take place at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At ISMS 2026, there will be several awards and prizes given out that recognize excellence in the field, ranging from graduate student honors to accolades for independent early-career scientists.

In this brief Q&A overview, we provide a brief overview of the five main awards given out: the Flygare Award; the Hougen Award; the Miller Prize; the Rao Prize; and the Snyder Award.

What is the Flygare Award?

The Flygare Award Lectures are presented every two years to early-career independent scientists recognizing outstanding contributions to molecular spectroscopy.¹ To be eligible for this award, 2026 nominees must have earned a PhD between 2015 and 2020, previously presented at ISMS, and have to be available to deliver a plenary lecture at the 2026 meeting.¹

What is the Hougen Award?

The Hougen Award supports early-career international spectroscopists who need financial assistance to attend ISMS. This award is funded through the Jon T. Hougen Memorial Award, providing up to $1,500 for travel and housing.² Eligible applicants include graduate students and recent PhDs within four years of graduation.²

What is the Miller Prize?

The Miller Prize honors Professor Terry A. Miller, who chaired ISMS from 1992 to 2013.³ This award recognizes the best presentation given by a recent PhD graduate at ISMS. Eligible candidates must be within four years of earning their degree, serve as the primary author and presenter of research completed after their PhD, and not have previously competed.³ Applicants must indicate interest during abstract submission and provide advisor certification of eligibility. The winner is invited to publish their research in the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, where accepted papers are identified as Miller Prize-winning work.³

What is the Rao Prize?

The Rao Prize recognizes outstanding graduate student research presented at ISMS. This award reinforces one of the aims of ISMS, which is student participation.⁴ Established by spectroscopists who benefited from this tradition, the prize is awarded annually to eligible students who are primary authors and presenters of their work and have not previously competed.⁴ Applicants must indicate interest during abstract submission and provide advisor certification of eligibility. Winners are invited to publish their research in the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, where accepted papers are specially identified as Rao Prize-winning work.⁴

What is the Snyder Award?

The Lewis E. Snyder Astrochemistry Award is an annual, non-financial honor presented at ISMS to recognize graduate students conducting astrochemical research in observations, theory, or laboratory studies.⁵ Astrochemistry is always an important topic discussed at ISMS, and one of the main reasons for covering this field is to encourage early-career researchers to pursue research in this area. The Snyder Award is named after astrochemist Lewis E. Snyder, who is known for the 1969 detection of interstellar formaldehyde, which is the first polyatomic molecule discovered in space with more than one heavy atom.⁵

References

1. ISMS, Flygare Award. Illinois.edu. Available at: https://isms.illinois.edu/FlygareAward.php (accessed 2026-05-01).
2. ISMS, Hougen Award. Illinois.edu. Available at: https://isms.illinois.edu/HougenAward.php (accessed 2026-05-01).
3. ISMS, Miller Prize. Illinois.edu. Available at: https://isms.illinois.edu/MillerPrize.php (accessed 2026-05-01).
4. ISMS, Rao Prize. Illinois.edu. Available at: https://isms.illinois.edu/RaoPrize.php (accessed 2026-05-01).
5. ISMS, Snyder Award. Illinois.edu. Available at: https://isms.illinois.edu/SnyderAward.php (accessed 2026-05-01).