2024 Rising Star in Industry Prize Winner
Dr Edris Joonaki, TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory
Awarded for significant technical leadership and contributions to the delivery of UK-government funded hydrogen and carbon capture and storage projects for net-zero.
Dr Edris Joonaki is a consultant in the energy industry. His expertise is in flow assurance and thermodynamics, which involve understanding the physical properties of energy resources so they flow to where they’re needed and accurately measuring the amount that’s flowing. Users can then work out usage and be charged the correct amount on their bill.
In his technical role at TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory, Edris works on the decarbonisation of the oil and gas industry, including carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the hydrogen economy. The company is the UK National Standard holder of flow measurements and Edris’s job is to ensure its clients’ equipment delivers similar high standards of accuracy. He works on many interesting projects, looking at the behaviour of Hydrogen and CO2 when they are transported or stored.
| Year | Name | Institution | Citation |
| 2023 | Dr Sam Staniland MRSC | AstraZeneca | Awarded for impact on the progression of multiple pharmaceutical projects by the application of bio- and chemocatalysis and high-throughput experimentation. |
| 2022 | Dr Stephen Hodge MRSC | Versarien plc | Awarded for strategic leadership in developing greener solutions and advocating for global regulations related to the physical and toxicological testing of graphene. |
| 2021 | Dr Stephen Dalby | MSD | Awarded for process innovation in novel drug development, transforming manufacturing route designs with improved sustainability. |
| 2020 | Dr Andy Chapman | Carbometrics Limited | Awarded for leading the scientific team of a small diabetes spin-out company towards one of the highest value exits for an early stage technology, and for pioneering new commercial opportunities with a second company founded after the acquisition. |
| 2019 |
Dr Alexander Reip | Oxford nanoSystems Ltd | Awarded for the creative development and scale-up of novel nano-coatings for energy saving and generation in heat transfer. |
| 2018 | Dr Andrew Pollard | National Physical Laboratory | Awarded for international leadership in industrially relevant measurements and standards for graphene and related 2D materials. |
| 2017 | Dr Jérémy Besnard | Exscientia Ltd | Awarded for the development of automated drug design algorithms that have delivered commercial value. |
| 2016 | Dr Angela Symington | BP | For her role in developing a framework to understand production chemistry threats relative to the design and delivery of major oil and gas projects. |
| 2015 | Dr Charlotte Hardy | GlaxoSmithKline | Awarded for her significant contribution to the delivery of three clinical candidates within the respiratory portfolio at GlaxoSmithKline. |
| 2014 | Dr Nathan Lawrence | University of Oxford | For outstanding achievements in analytical science relating to oil field exploration. |
| 2013 | Dr Gordon Saxty | Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc | For his original and innovative contributions to fragment based drug discovery resulting in multiple clinical candidates, highly regarded publications and an extensive list of patents. |
| 2012 | Dr Asier Unciti-Broceta | Deliverics | For his capacity to develop and lead the translation of novel concepts into products, along with his outstanding research/commercial early track record in the chemical sciences. |
| 2011 | Dr Martin Hanton | Sasol Technology UK | For his development of innovative homogeneous alkene di- and tetra-merisation initiator systems, which played a major contribution in developing one of the most important recent new processes in the petrochemical industry. |
| 2010 | Dr Jon-Paul Griffiths | Oxford Advanced Surfaces Group PLC | For his dedication and tenacity in researching novel applications of carbene chemistry which led to him setting up the spin-out Oxford Advanced Surfaces to exploit this new technology. |
| 2009 | Dr Lyn Jones | Pfizer | For his significant contribution to the early clinical portfolio at Pfizer. |
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.