Organic Chemistry open prize: Pedler Prize

Key information

Deadlines

• Nominations open 15 October.
• Nominations close 14 January, 17:00 GMT.

Eligibility

Individuals named in any of the following roles during the nomination and judging period are not eligible to nominate or be nominated:

• Organic Chemistry Prize Committee members
• RSC Subject Community Presidents
• RSC Prize Committee members
• Trustees of the Royal Society of Chemistry
• Royal Society of Chemistry staff 

Nominators:

• Only RSC members can nominate for this prize.
• Nominees may NOT nominate themselves.

Nominees:

• The prize is open to RSC members only. This will be checked by RSC staff and the nominee’s RSC membership must be confirmed at the point of nomination – it is not sufficient to have a membership application in process.
• There are no career stage restrictions associated with this prize.
• Nominees can only be considered for one of our Research & Innovation Prizes in any given year. In a case where a nominee is nominated for more than one prize independently, RSC staff will ask the nominee which prize they would like to be considered for.
• We will not consider nominations of deceased individuals.
• We particularly encourage nominations of disabled people, those who work part-time, or whose career has spanned a break for any reason – for example, a period of parental or adoption leave, caring responsibilities, long-term illness, family commitments, or other circumstances. We understand that these can impact a nominee’s career in different ways, and encourage nominators to use the space provided on the nomination form to explain the nature and impact of the nominees’ individual circumstances (see 'Guidelines for Nominators' for further details).
  • Please do not hesitate to contact the team at awards@rsc.org should you have any questions about the above.

Guidelines for nominators

General information

• When nominating previous RSC prize winners, please remember that a person cannot be awarded twice for substantially the same body of work.
• Nominees should only be nominated once for this prize in any given prize cycle. In cases where we receive more than one nomination for the same nominee, only one nomination will go forward to judging.
• Since 2023, we have been trialling a process where all unsuccessful nominations will automatically rollover once, to be considered for the next round of the prize, unless the nominee's circumstances have changed to make them ineligible. This means that:
  • All nominations submitted for the first time for a 2024 prize will be considered for a 2025 prize. We strongly encourage nominators to update their nomination between cycles when the nomination window is open.
  • The RSC Prize Committee will review the outcomes from the trial in July 2025.

Submitting your nomination

Please use our online nominations system to submit the following information:

• Your name, contact details, and RSC membership number (please contact the RSC Membership team if you do not know your membership details).Your RSC membership must be confirmed at the point of nomination – it is not sufficient to have a membership application in process. The identity of nominators is not made known to our judging panels. The RSC reserves the right to amend nominations if necessary to ensure the anonymity of the nominator.
• Your nominee's name and contact details.
• An up to date CV for the nominee (no longer than one A4 side, 11pt text) which should include a summary of their education and career, and a maximum of 5 relevant publications or patents.
• Any information related to career breaks taken by your nominee - for example, a period of parental or adoption leave, caring responsibilities, long-term illness, family commitments, as well as any other circumstances including long-term conditions or disabilities. We understand that these can impact a nominee's career in different ways, and encourage nominators to use the space provided on the noination form to explain the nature and impact of the nominee's individual circumstances. This information will be shared with the committee, but before doing so RSC staff will always seek consent from the nominee in cases where special category data is mentioned. 
• A short citation describing what the nominee should be awarded for. This must be no longer than 250 characters (including spaces) and no longer than one sentence.
• A supporting statement (up to 750 words) addressing the selection criteria. Our guidance for nominators page has more information on writing this supporting statement.
• A statement (up to 100 words) describing how your nominee has contributed more broadly to the scientific community. A list of possible examples is outlined in the ‘selection criteria’ tab.
• References are not required for this prize and will not be accepted.

The RSC reserves the right to rescind any prize if there are reasonable grounds to do so. All nominators will be asked to confirm that to the best of their knowledge there is no impediment, relating to professional conduct, to their nominee receiving this prize. All prize winners will be asked to sign the RSC’s Code of Conduct Declaration for Recognition. 

Selection Criteria and Judging Panel

Our selection committees base their evaluations on the overall quality of relevant contributions and achievements by nominees, in relation to the selection criteria listed below.

The scientific content of any supporting publications, as described in the supporting statement, is much more important than publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which it is published.

The selection committee will consider the following aspects of nominations for this prize:

• Originality of research
• Impact of research
• Quality of publications and/or patents and/or software
• Innovation
• Professional standing
• Collaborations and teamwork
• Other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominator 

In an instance where multiple nominees are judged equally meritorious in relation to the above criteria, judging panels have the flexibility to use information provided by the nominator on the nominee’s broader contribution to the chemistry community as an additional criterion.

Examples of relevant contributions could include, but are not limited to:

• Involvement with Royal Society of Chemistry member groups/networks
• Teaching/demonstrating
• Effective mentorship
• Service on boards, committees or panels
• Leadership in the scientific community
• Peer-reviewer
• Promotion of diversity and inclusion
• Advocacy for chemistry
• Public engagement and outreach

Organic Chemistry Prize Committee

• David O'Hagan, University of St Andrews (Chair)
• Vijay Chudasama, University College London
• Dorcas O. Moronkola, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
• Angela J. Russell, University of Oxford
• Eoin Scanlan, Trinity College Dublin, Republic of Ireland
• Robert Stockman, University of Nottingham
• Katherine Wheelhouse, GSK

History of the prize

This prize is named after Sir Alexander Pedler, benefactor of the Royal Society of London, the Chemical Society, the Institute of Chemistry and the British Science Guild.

Born in London in 1849, Pedler attended the City of London School and won the Pharmaceutical Society's Bell Scholarship at the age of 17. His education continued at the Royal School of Mines and then the Royal College of Chemistry in Oxford Street, with an intermittent period of employment at Perkin & Sons original aniline factory. His research at the Royal College of Chemistry, under Sir Edward Frankland, led to a publication in 1868 in the Journal of the Chemical Society. That same year he joined the Solar Eclipse Expedition, a theme that continued with his involvement in the Eclipse Expeditions of 1875 and 1893.

Pedler's lecturing career began in 1871 as a demonstrator to Frankland, subsequently becoming Professor of Chemistry in the Presidency College, Calcutta, in 1873. His great interest in meteorological phenomena continued however, and he held the position of the Bengal Government's Meteorological Reporter for 22 years. During his time in Calcutta he held the posts of Principal of the Presidency College, Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University, Minister of Public Instruction and additional Member of the Legislative Council. His research interests during this time included cobra poison and the influence of tropical sunlight on chemical change.

Pedler received a number of honours, including Fellow of the Royal Society (1892), Companion of the Indian Empire (CIE, 1901), a knighthood (1906) and Hon. Secretary of the British Science Guild. Pedler completed research as part of the war effort for the Ministry of Munitions, where he sadly died during a visit in 1918.

This prize was established in 1927 through a bequest from Sir Alexander Pedler. In 2021, the purposes of this Trust were amended, and remaining monies were combined with other generous bequests and donations to become part of the RSC Recognition Fund.