Organic Chemistry mid-career prize: Robert Robinson 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 nominees working in the UK and Ireland only.
• Nominees should be a mid-career scientist (for further details, see information below and in the ‘Guidelines for Nominators’ section).
• 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.

Career stage guidance

• After fully taking account of any time away from research, career breaks or interruptions, nominees will typically have no more than 20 years of full-time equivalent professional experience at the closing date for nominations.
  • We define this as experience gained as part of a career working in scientific research, excluding time spent in full-time education. For example, experience studying as a postgraduate (PhD) student is not included, but this does include experience working as e.g. a post-doctoral researcher, or working in research in industry.
  • Nominators will be asked to provide details of the nominee's professional experience, in relation to the above criteria (see ‘Guidelines for Nominators’). The Prize Committee will consider this information in relation to the eligibility criteria, and they have the discretion to consider any nomination for a different prize under their remit.
• 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.
• Information relating to your nominee’s career and professional experience, which will be shared with the committee. Before doing so, RSC staff will always seek consent from the nominee in cases where special category data is mentioned. Please make sure that you provide enough information for the committee to understand the nature and impact of any time away from research.
  • Date (month and year) of the start of their career working in scientific research.
  • Details (dates and time periods) of any part-time work, time away from research, career breaks or interruptions – for example, parental/adoption leave, caring responsibilities, long-term illness, family commitments, etc.
  • Any other circumstances not captured above – for example, long-term conditions, disabilities, etc., that you would like the committee to be aware of and consider.
• 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

Originally the Rhône-Poulenc Lectureship, this prize was founded to mark the sesquicentenary of what was then May & Baker Ltd. The Lectureship was awarded for notable contributions to organic chemistry.

The prize was renamed as the MSD Prize in 2017, and until 2024 was kindly supported by MSD. From 2024, the prize adopted the name of the British organic chemist Robert Robinson, who received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1947 for his investigations on plant products of biological importance. 

The prize was established in 1984 through a bequest. 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.