YSA25
BSSM Young Stress Analyst (YSA) Competition
Date/Time: 3 September 2025
Location: Imperial College London, UK
The annual BSSM Young Stress Analyst Competition (YSA) will take place alongside the 19th International Conference on Experimental Mechanics, 2- 4 September 2025. The conference and competition will be held at Imperial College London, UK.
In previous years the YSA competition format has been different, so please ensure you familiarise yourself with the eligibility and competition format and requirements below before applying.
Eligibility
To be considered for the Young Stress Analyst Competition:
• You must submit an abstract as first author to the main BSSM conference – it is this abstract that will be considered by the YSA panel. If your application is not selected for the final then it will be considered for presentation at the conference and, if accepted, you will be required to pay the student registration fee to be included in the programme.
• The topic of the work should be experimental mechanics or testing of materials or contribute to experimental mechanical analysis of materials in some way, in line with the conference topics.
• You must have been a student (undergraduate, masters, or doctoral) while conducting all the research you are submitting for presentation.
• You must not have been awarded your PhD more than 9 months before the start of the BSSM conference (this refers to graduation and issuing of the degree certificate).
YSA competition format and requirements
You should submit two documents to take part in YSA:
1. Extended abstract of two pages, in accordance with the standard call for conference abstracts. You must be the first author of the work and ensure that your abstract includes at least one figure and five references
2. Maximum 500-word cover letter to support your application for YSA
Your cover letter should include details of:
• Novelty and/or importance of your research
• Your contribution to the work described in your abstract
• Plans for your future research (if applicable)
• Your reasoning for taking part in the YSA competition
Submissions will be reviewed by an expert panel, who will select four finalists to proceed to the next stage of the competition. The four finalists will present their research in a dedicated plenary conference session (and answer some questions after the presentation). Presentations and answers to questions are judged by a panel of leading industrial and academic experts. The criteria being assessed by the judges are: scientific quality, novelty, potential for impact, contribution to the field of experimental mechanics (academic or industrial) and clarity of explanation in both the written submissions and the oral presentation. Announcement of winners will be made at the conference dinner.
Prizes
All four YSA finalists will receive:
• A cash prize
• Free conference registration, conference dinner and a small honorarium to support travel/accommodation*
• Free membership of the BSSM, which includes one year’s access to the journal ‘Strain’ and reduced fees for attending BSSM technical and scientific workshops and seminars
Key Dates
Abstract submission deadline 31 March 2025
Initial author notification from 15 April 2025
Early bird registration ends 31 May 2025
Delegate registration deadline 1 July 2025
Please follow the links below to submit an abstract and also register for the conference.
*YSA entrants will not be required to pay any registration fees. If you are not selected as a YSA finalist you will be notified before the Early Bird deadline. You can then choose to attend the conference as a delegate, at which point you will be required to pay the delegate fee.
Thank you for this award. When I first arrived I felt a bit of an outsider seeing all of the recent advancements in Stress and Strain Measurement. I felt like I barely scratch the service of the work that you all do. But it is that hard work and the advancements you all make everyday that makes what I do possible.