SMS Annual Conference PhD Paper Prize

This paper prize recognizes a PhD candidate’s presentation of an outstanding paper at the SMS Annual Conference.

PhD candidates, whose proposals meet the below eligibility criteria, are invited to submit a full paper version of their submitted proposal for consideration by the review committee. These are studied prior to the conference and 10 finalists are named. Five winners are honored with the SMS Best Conference PhD Paper Prize each year at the conference and receive awards of US$1,500 each.

• A PhD Candidate must be the primary author of the presented proposal (either sole author or first author on a paper that includes no more than one faculty co-author)
• The proposal must be accepted and presented at the SMS Annual Conference
• The primary author is expected to be enrolled full-time and in-residency as a PhD student during the academic year in which the conference takes place
• The author(s), the title, and the subject matter of the submitted paper must match the original, accepted conference proposal
• The paper must not have been previously published
• Based on proposal review scores, authors of the top 30% of proposals that meet the above criteria will be invited to submit a full paper

The Co-Directors for the 2026 SMS Annual Conference PhD Paper Prize are Christopher Rider, University of Michigan, and Nilanjana Dutt, Bocconi University.