Our 2020 prize and award winners
We are recognising more than 80 individuals and teams for their exceptional achievements in advancing the chemical sciences through their work in everything from education and research, to innovation, policy and volunteering.
Use the gallery below to explore our winners, and discover and share their stories.
Click through to individual profile pages to see photo galleries, insights into their work, and a Q&A. You’ll also find buttons for sharing these pages using social media or email.
We have also recently published by our winners, across our journals portflio. These articles are free to access until 30 September 2020.
The UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ of Chemistry is committed to supporting and improving inclusion and diversity in the chemical sciences, and this extends to our prizes and awards programme.
Visit our for more video content – including montages featuring each of our winners, and a message from our Acting CEO, Dr Helen Pain.
Our 2020 Prize winners
Professor Edward Tate→
Corday-Morgan Prize
Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute
Read more +Professor Richard Catlow→
Faraday Lectureship Prize
University College London and Cardiff University
Read more +Professor Iain McCulloch→
Interdisciplinary Prize
Imperial College London and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Read more +Professor Vernon Gibson→
Lord Lewis Prize
University of Manchester, University of Oxford and Imperial College London
Read more +Professor Martin Schröder→
Nyholm Prize for Inorganic Chemistry
University of Manchester
Read more +Professor Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh→
Robert Boyle Prize for Analytical Science
University of New South Wales
Read more +Our 2020 Award winners
Dr Mike Foulkes→
Anne Bennett Memorial Award for Distinguished Service
University of Plymouth
Read more +Dr James Barker→
Award for Exceptional Service
Kingston University and UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Registration Committee
Read more +Professor David Evans→
Award for Exceptional Service
John Innes Centre, Norwich and UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Inorganic Biochemistry Discussion Group
Read more +Professor William Griffith→
Award for Exceptional Service
Imperial College London and UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Historical Group
Read more +Professor John Hepworth→
Award for Exceptional Service
University of Central Lancashire and UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Lancaster and District Local Section
Read more +Dr Jackie Morton→
Award for Exceptional Service
HSE Science and Research Centre, UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Sheffield and District Local Section and UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Atomic Spectroscopy Group
Read more +Professor Daryl Williams→
Chemistry World Entrepreneur of the Year
Imperial College London and Surface Measurement Systems Limited
Read more +Technical Support Team in the Department of Chemistry at Lancaster University→
Higher Education Technical Excellence Award
Lancaster University
Read more +The DISTINCTIVE Consortium→
Industry-Academia Collaboration Award
The University of Leeds
Read more +UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Chilterns and Middlesex Local Section Committee→
Inspirational Committee Award
UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Chilterns and Middlesex Local Section Committee
Read more +UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Food Group Committee→
Inspirational Committee Award
UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Food Group Committee
Read more +Professor John Dean→
Inspirational Member Award
Northumbria University and UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Analytical Division North East Region
Read more +Dr Amanda Hardy→
Inspirational Member Award
UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ of Biology and UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Chilterns and Middlesex Local Section
Read more +Dr Steve Lancaster→
Inspirational Member Award
Domino Printing Sciences and UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Pan Africa Chemistry Network
Read more +Dr Gemma Scotney→
Inspirational Member Award
Pfizer Ltd and UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Kent Local Section
Read more +Professor Sjoerd Harder→
Main Group Chemistry Award
Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg
Read more +Professor Wilfred van der Donk→
Pedler Award
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Read more +Professor Paolo Samorì→
UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥/SCF Joint Lectureship in Chemical Sciences
University of Strasbourg & CNRS
Read more +Professor Alan Goldman→
Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Award
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Read more +Professor Steven Armes→
Soft Matter and Biophysical Chemistry Award
University of Sheffield
Read more +Inclusion and diversity in our prizes and awards
The UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ of Chemistry is committed to supporting and improving inclusion and diversity in the chemical sciences, and this extends to our prizes and awards programme.
We are taking steps to make our prizes and awards portfolio more reflective of the modern world and the diversity of our community.
Prizes and awards
- As part of our ongoing response to key findings of the independent Review of Recognition, which we commissioned in 2018, we are undergoing the biggest overhaul of our awards portfolio in its 150 year history.
- Our five-point action plan provides a roadmap to broadening what we recognise, and the ways in which we do so.
- We will be placing a greater emphasis on teams and collaborations, technicians, teachers, and those who are in earlier stages of their career.
- Excellence will remain the first criterion for winning an award. However, we will expand what we and others mean by excellence, shining a light on the many types of excellence and the different facets of diversity that are crucial for modern science.
- We are continuing our efforts to expand the pool of people nominated for our awards.
- A follow-on review – which will begin in August 2020 and is expected to last a year – will consider those after whom our historical eponymous awards are named, as well as their beliefs and actions, along with new award names.
- Since 2015 we have published annual statistics relating to gender diversity in our Prizes and Awards programme. Download our 2020 gender diversity data.
Inclusion & diversity
As a professional and membership body, and a leading voice for the chemistry community, we have a responsibility to promote inclusivity and accessibility in order to improve diversity.
Our wider inclusion and diversity strategy addresses the core issues at the heart of diversity and inclusion in the chemical sciences, which will in turn – in time – be reflected in the diversity of our prizes and awards programme.
- Breaking the barriers – Our 2018 report gave us new insights into the barriers women face in the chemical sciences.
- In 2019 we released a report called Exploring the workplace for LGBT+ physical scientists
- Bullying & harassment support line – In 2019 we launched a support line for anyone affected or concerned by bullying or harassing behaviour in the chemical sciences
- Inclusion & diversity publishing framework – Our framework for action maps out the steps we will take to minimise bias in the publishing processes
- In 2021 we plan to carry out research on ethnicity in the chemical sciences. Read our Black Lives Matter statement and contribute to our consultation.
- From 2020 onwards, we will publish UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥-wide data on inclusion and diversity, which will cover aspects of diversity across our activities.