The Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Tantalum Prize

Recognising excellence in tantalum research and innovation

The Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Tantalum Prize ('Ekeberg Prize') is a annually awarded by the T.I.C. for excellence in tantalum research and innovation*. The Ekeberg Prize, first awarded in 2018, increases awareness of the many unique properties of tantalum products and the applications in which they excel.

The Prize has been named after the discoverer of tantalum and will be awarded to the lead author(s) of the published paper, book or patent that is judged by an independent panel of experts to have made the greatest contribution to understanding the processing, properties or applications of tantalum. The prize is sponsored by the T.I.C. and is central to its efforts to publicise the many exceptional benefits afforded by this element.

The long-term future of the tantalum market will depend on technology-driven innovations and winners of the Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Tantalum Prize will be acknowledged as true leaders in this field. The lead author(s) will be invited to give a presentation on their work at a General Assembly, where they will also receive a medal made of tantalum and a certificate of award presented by the T.I.C. President. They will also be interviewed in our newsletter, the Bulletin.

How will the Prize be granted?

The Prize is open to any published paper or patent that is judged to advance knowledge and understanding of tantalum. To be eligible for consideration the publication must be in English and be made between 24 and 6 months before the award ceremony at a T.I.C. General Assembly. Therefore, to be eligible for the 2023 Prize a publication must be dated between September 2021 and March 2023.

Should you wish to submit or recommend a publication for consideration for the 2023 Ekeberg Prize, then please contact the T.I.C. by May 31st 2023.

Suitable subjects may include, but are not limited to:

• Tantalum used in capacitors or other electronic applications
• Tantalum metallurgy and mill products, including alloys
• The use of tantalum powder in additive manufacturing (3D printing)
• Innovative new applications for tantalum
• Processing of tantalum minerals, synthetic concentrates or other raw materials
• Recycling of tantalum-bearing scrap

The T.I.C. staff and Executive Committee, acting as secretariat to the Prize, will create a shortlist of approximately a dozen eligible publications for consideration by the independent panel of experts (the ‘Panel’) that will vote on the winner.

Panel of Experts

The independent Panel of Experts judges the prize. The Panel is a group of between five and seven international experts selected from around the world to provide an impartial assessment on the technical merit of the shortlisted papers. Each will be asked to serve for up to three years to give continuity and stability to the decision-making process. Members of the current T.I.C. Executive Committee and staff cannot sit on the Panel.

The panellists are listed here.

The Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Tantalum Prize follows in a long tradition of awards for excellence in metals, chemicals and related scientific disciplines, including:
The Albert Einstein World Award of Science (science)	The Nobel Prizes (including physics and chemistry)		The Bessemer Gold Medal (steel)	The Charles Hatchett Award Prize (niobium)	The Gadolin Medal of the Society of Finnish Chemists (chemistry)	The Davy Medal of the (UK) Royal Society (chemistry)

* Although the T.I.C. represents and supports both tantalum and niobium equally, the Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Tantalum Prize will focus only on tantalum, but this is only because CBMM’s Charles Hatchett Award (www.charles-hatchett.com) already does an excellent job of recognising niobium published research.