Merck Young Scientist Award 2027/1:
Chemistry Discovery for Longevity and Well-being
About the award
The Merck Young Scientist Award is a competition that recognizes, encourages and empowers promising early-career researchers and postgraduate scientists. In 2027 it joins PACCON2027 and the Thailand Youth Chemistry Network (TYCN) to focus on chemistry innovation and advanced research.
Drive content and scientific excellence.
The collaborative event takes place at the conference.
Reach more attendees and encourage participation.
Since 2010
Eligibility
You need to meet both conditions on the application date.
Master's student, Doctoral (Ph.D.) student, or postdoctoral researcher who graduated within the past 3 years.
Submitted as a poster, oral presentation or proceedings, and officially accepted by the PACCON2027 Organizing Committee.
Activity criteria
Merck Thailand and TYCN judge every round.
Send a summary of your PACCON2027-accepted work to Merck Thailand before the deadline. We assess:
20 finalists, each with a sponsored 1-year CST Ordinary Membership
Show the core essence, value and impact of your research. We assess:
1 Pitching Award winner (CST Trophy)
The remaining 19 finalists give a 3-minute talk and a 2-minute Q&A on site. We assess:
13 award winners
Recognition
Event in PACCON2027
Time
13:00 – 17:00
Venue
The Circle Building, Centara Life Government Complex Hotel & Convention Centre
Who attends
Finalists, committee members and general participants
Timeline
Round 1 template
Use this layout for your Round 1 summary. Aim for one A4 page; a second page is allowed if you need more space. Base it on your accepted PACCON2027 work. The content below is a fictional example. Click any text to edit it, or download the Word template to edit, then upload it with your application.
1Department of Chemistry, [University], [City]. 2[Institute], [City]. Corresponding email: presenter@university.ac.th
carbon dots; fluorescent sensor; oxidative stress; green synthesis; healthy aging
Oxidative stress is linked to cellular aging and age-related disease. Monitoring markers such as hydrogen peroxide usually needs costly instruments or toxic probes. Carbon dots made from plant waste offer a low-cost, low-toxicity route to optical sensing, but their sensitivity in biological-like media is not well established.
Dried pomelo peel was heated at 180 °C for 6 h in an autoclave, filtered and dialyzed. Particles were characterized by TEM, FTIR, UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. Quenching response was measured with 0-200 µM H2O2 in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4), in triplicate, against common interfering ions and biomolecules.
Quenching likely arises from electron transfer between surface groups and H2O2. Waste-derived carbon dots can therefore serve as simple, low-cost sensors for oxidative stress studies. Next steps are testing in cell culture media and improving stability for long-term storage. This supports chemistry-driven tools for longevity and well-being research.
| First name | Last name | Mobile | Primary institution | City | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presenter | Lastname | presenter@univ.ac.th | 08x-xxx-xxxx | [University] | Bangkok | Presenter |
| Co-author | Lastname | coauthor@univ.ac.th | 08x-xxx-xxxx | [University] | Bangkok | Contributor |
| Advisor | Lastname | advisor@univ.ac.th | 08x-xxx-xxxx | [University] | Bangkok | Advisor |
Round 1 Submission Period: 1 – 30 November 2026
All fields are required. Your summary must be one page and based on your accepted PACCON2027 work. See the summary template.
The form opens in a new tab. Please have your 1-page summary (PDF or Word) and your PACCON2027 abstract acceptance ready to upload.
Open the application formYou need to sign in with a Google account to upload files. Questions: thysa2027@merckgroup.com
Looking Back
Highlights from the Merck Young Scientist Award 2025 event series, categorized into 4 activity groups.
Master's students, Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers who graduated within the past 3 years can apply. Applicants must also hold an accepted PACCON2027 abstract.
Poster presentations, oral presentations and proceedings are accepted. The PACCON2027 Organizing Committee must have officially accepted the abstract.
Merck Thailand and TYCN select 20 finalists in Round 1. Each finalist receives a sponsored 1-year Ordinary Membership to the Chemical Society of Thailand.
The video pitch can be up to 5 minutes long. It should show the core essence, value and impact of the research.
Finalists present for 3 minutes and answer questions for 2 minutes, on site at PACCON2027. The Pitching Award winner gives a 5-minute Special Presentation instead.