The Luckhurst-Samulski Prize
The Luckhurst-Samulski Prize was launched in 2009 and awarded for the first time in 2010. The Prize of £1000 is for the best paper published each year in Liquid Crystals and the full terms and conditions of the Prize can be found here. The Prize is intended to be a real stimulus to the liquid crystal community and is presented alternately at either the ILCC or the ECLC, depending on the year.
The Prize is named in honour of Professors Geoffrey Luckhurst and Ed Samulski, not only in recognition of their roles in founding the Journal but also for their outstanding contributions to liquid crystal science. In 1986, Professors Luckhurst and Samulski together with Taylor & Francis launched Liquid Crystals.
In their Editorial in the very first issue they commented that the study of liquid crystals 'is a burgeoning field of interdisciplinary endeavour and now is an exciting time to be involved in liquid crystal research'. Some 20 years later, in an editorial marking two decades of the journal, they reflected that 'these words seem as true today as when they were written 20 years ago'. This vibrancy has helped to underpin the continuing success of Liquid Crystals, which has remained faithful to the vision of its founding editors to serve the needs of the liquid crystal community to share its ideas. The Editor and Publishers view this Prize as providing a further stimulus to this activity.