2024 Inspirational Committee Award Winner
RSC South Africa North Local Section
Awarded for proactively diversifying the committee to represent their membership community.
Pre-COVID, the RSC Local Section South Africa North committee consisted of members from Johannesburg and Pretoria, as committee meetings were all held face-to-face. This limited the involvement of members from other provinces within the local section. With the move to online meetings during the pandemic, the committee initiated the inclusion of RSC members from Durban. A number of early career chemists from a range of institutions (from academia and industry) were also encouraged to join as part of the committee’s succession planning. It has maintained online meetings, with one face-to-face meeting each year.
2024 Inspirational Committee Award Winner
RSC USA East Coast Local Section
Awarded for the diversification of their activities to engage a wider audience of chemists and non-chemists.
The RSC USA East Coast Section has been established since the mid-60s. Its committee includes two educators, one pharmaceutical scientist, and one well-published author/consultant chemist, along with occasional support from past presidents. They meet around three times a year.
| Year | Name | Citation |
| 2023 | Kent Local Section | Awarded for a proactive and effective approach to supporting diversity both within the committee and across their events and activities. |
| 2023 | Education Community Scotland Committee | Awarded for supporting and representing teachers to policymakers, influencing how chemistry is taught in Scotland with notable impact on the curriculum. |
| 2023 | Analytical Science Community North East Region | Awarded for the development and delivery of a major initiative in bringing chemistry to the public, in collaboration with Alnwick Garden, under the theme of 'Poisons in the Garden'. |
| 2022 | RSC Molecular Spectroscopy Group | Awarded for the successful transition of their programme to run online during the Covid-19 pandemic. |
| 2022 | RSC South India Local Section | Awarded for the creation and development of a diverse programme for their community in South India. |
| 2021 | RSC Chemical Information and Computer Applications Group | Awarded for the development of the Open Chemistry series of meetings and workshops and the successful transition to virtual meetings due to the Covid-19 pandemic. |
| 2021 | RSC Formulation Science and Technology Group | Awarded for the successful transition of their conference programme to run online on during the Covid-19 pandemic. |
| 2021 | RSC Porous Materials Group | Awarded for the creation and development of a cohesive porous materials community. |
| 2020 | RSC Chilterns and Middlesex Local Section Committee | Awarded for developing the Chemistry Communicators' Challenge to promote science communication across their diverse member community. |
| 2020 | RSC Food Group Committee | Awarded for developing the food chemistry periodic table in addition to addressing global challenges through events and publications. |
| 2019 | Aberdeen and North Scotland Local Section committee | Awarded for revitalising the Aberdeen and North Scotland Local Section of the Royal Society of Chemistry and improving the engagement and activities available to members of their community. |
| 2019 | Cumbria Local Section committee | Awarded for developing their programme of events to provide engagement opportunities for the full breadth of their community by embracing the diversity of their membership and seeking out new communication channels and collaborations. |
| 2019 | Toxicology Group committee | Awarded for the production and promotion of the Faces of Toxicology films highlighting the diversity of scientists and career opportunities in the toxicology community. |
| 2018 |
Chemical Education Research Group committee | Awarded for revitalising the Chemical Education Research Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry and improving the engagement and activities available to members of their community. |
| 2018 |
Deccan Local Section committee | Awarded for inspiring the next generation to engage with the chemical sciences through the organisations of a diverse range of educational activities and raising the profile of local female scientists. |
| 2017 |
New Zealand Local Section committee | Awarded for revitalising the New Zealand Local Section of the Royal Society of Chemistry and improving the engagement and activity of members throughout the country. |
| 2016 |
Early Career Symposium 2016 Committee | Awarded for recognition of the commitment and achievements of the committee to run the Early Career Symposium 2016 event aimed at engaging members based in Industry and Academia in the early stages of their career. |
| 2015 |
East Midlands Local Section Committee | Awarded for recognition of the commitment shown by the committee to maintain a diverse and balanced representation of their whole community on both the committee and in their programme of activities. |
| 2015 |
Applied Catalysis Group Committee | Awarded for recognition of the annual careers events run to demonstrate the breadth of careers in this field in addition to their scientific programme. |
| 2015 |
Biological and Medicinal Chemistry Sector Committee | Awarded for recognition of the diversity and breadth of impact of the outreach work undertaken by the committee. |
Re-thinking recognition: Science prizes for the modern world
This report is the result of an independent review of our recognition programmes. Our aim in commissioning this review was to ensure that our recognition portfolio continues to deliver the maximum impact for chemical scientists, chemistry and society.