Energy Sector PhD Thesis Award
The Royal Society of Chemistry Energy Sector will award a £1,000 cash prize for the best PhD thesis awarded in the field of Chemistry for the Energy Sector.
Eligibility
This is an annual award, open to all candidates that have been awarded (but not necessarily graduated) a PhD from a UK or Republic of Ireland University within the previous calendar year. Their PhD thesis should be original work predominantly in the field of chemistry that must have application in the Energy Sector.
The 2023 Thesis Award prize is now live and open to any candidate who submitted their thesis between January 2023 and December 2023 inclusive.
Adjudication
The RSC Energy Sector Executive Committee decides the prize winner based on a recommendation by the PhD Award Sub-Committee and the decision cannot be challenged.
The purpose of the award is to spotlight PhD research in the Energy Sector in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. A PhD Award Sub-Committee, formed by RSC Energy Sector Committee and co-opted experts, will assess the application and recommend the winner to the Committee for approval. The Sub-Committee may seek the advice of other professionals (academics, industrialists, RSC advisors/subject champions) to assess the merits of an application.
The PhD Award Sub-Committee will base their assessment on the criteria below from information provided in the candidate’s Executive Summary.
The judging criteria will be based on the following:
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The level to which the work (thesis) addresses a clearly identified need in global energy requirements.
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The degree to which the work adds significant new understanding to an aspect of the energy sector.
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The presentation of the underlying chemistry on which the work is based.
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The level to which the work, if implemented, could contribute to quantifiable environmentally sustainable energy provision (CO₂ reduction or abatement, reduction in toxic emissions, etc).
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The dissemination of the results and engagement with the wider community.
Rules
- Candidates must have been examined and notified of award of PhD (but not necessarily graduated) from a recognised UK or Republic of Ireland university in the calendar year 2023.
- The candidate’s PhD thesis should be original work predominantly in the field of chemistry that must have application in the Energy Sector.
- Candidates must submit an application via email to the Secretary of the RSC Energy Sector (rscenergysector@gmail.com) by the deadline of the competition.
- The RSC Energy Sector Committee decides the prize winner based on a recommendation by the PhD Award Sub-Committee and this decision cannot be challenged.
- More information on the rules of this competition can be found in the document at the bottom of this page.
Your application must contain:
- A pro forma application (link at the bottom of this page).
- Executive Summary of their PhD thesis no greater than 1,000 words, highlighting the relevance of the work to the Energy Sector and the RSC's commitment to tackling global challenges. The Executive Summary should clarify how their thesis contributes to a genuine need of the Energy Sector and explain the work's environmental, economic and social benefits.
- Candidates should note that the content of their Executive Summary is not the abstract of the thesis and will be the primary source of the judges’ consideration.
- A letter from their main PhD supervisor recommending the candidate for consideration for this prize and confirming that the candidate meets the criteria for eligibility for the competition.
Past Winners
| 2022 | Dr Sam A. J. Hillman Sulfones and side chains: structure-function-performance relationships in linear conjugated polymer photocatalysts for the evolution of hydrogen from water |
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| 2021 | Dr Anqi Wang Functional Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity for Battery Energy Storage |
| 2020 | Dr Michael Sachs Transient spectroscopic studies of disordered semiconductors for solar-driven fuel synthesis |
| 2019 | Dr Harriotte Jessica Pereira Nanostructured Copper Window and Reflective Electrodes for Organic Photovoltaics |
| 2018 | Dr Clementine Chambon Towards an Economically Viable Ionic Liquids Based Biorefinery: Lignocellulose Fractionation and Value-Added Products from Lignin |
| 2017 | Dr Franky Bedoya-Lora Photo-Electrochemical Reactors with Hematite Photo-anodes for Water and Hydrogen Sulfide Splitting |
| 2016 | Dr Abby Casey Optoelectronic Properties of New Conjugated Materials |
| 2015 Joint winners | Dr Alexander Forse Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies of Ion Adsorption in Supercapacitor Electrodes Dr Lisa Kleiminger Solid Oxide Electrochemical Reactors and Processes for Carbon Dioxide and Water Splitting |
| 2014 | Dr Oluwafunmilola Ola Effect of metal Doping and Supports on TiO2-based Catalysts for CO2 Photoreduction |
| 2013 | Dr Alissa Cotton Engineering Scale-up and Environmental Effects of the Calcium Looping Cycle for Post-Combustion CO2 Capture |
