Bader Prize for Organic Chemistry
The Bader Prize recognises eminence in organic chemistry, which has not previously been rewarded by the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø of Chemistry.
Details
| Status | Closed |
|---|---|
| Nominations opening date | 21 October 2025 12:00am |
| Nominations closing date | 14 January 2026 12:00am |
| Nominator eligibility | ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø members |
| Nominee eligibility | Individuals |
| Nominee location | UK and Ireland |
| Career stage | All career stages |
About this prize
Nominations for this prize will close on Wednesday 14 January 2026 at 17:00 GMT.
The Bader Prize recognises eminence in organic chemistry, which has not previously been rewarded by the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø of Chemistry.
- Run annually
- The winner receives £3000, a medal and a certificate
- The winner will complete a UK lecture tour
- The winner will be chosen by the Organic Chemistry Prize Selection Panel
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 Selection Panel members
- ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Subject Community Presidents
- ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Prize Committee members
- Trustees of the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø of Chemistry
- ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø of Chemistry staff
Nominators:
- Only ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø members can nominate for this prize.
- Nominees may NOT nominate themselves.
Nominees:
- This prize is open to nominees based in the UK or Ireland only.
- There are no career stage restrictions associated with this prize.
- Nominees must not have previously received an individual ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø 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, ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø 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).
General information
- When nominating previous ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø 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.
- All unsuccessful nominations from the previous cycle will be retained on our nomination system ahead of the next cycle. To be considered again, nominators must log in, update details, and resubmit the nomination for the following cycle. Please note that reconsideration is no longer automatic.
- ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø staff will write to nominators and nominees to confirm when the nomination window has re-opened. Nominators will receive instructions on how to log in and update the nomination.
To make a nomination, please use our online nominations system to submit the following information:
- Your name, contact details, and membership number (please contact the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Membership team if you do not know your membership details). Your ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø 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 ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø 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 nomination form to explain the nature and impact of the nominee's individual circumstances. This information will be shared with the selection panel, but before doing so ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø 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 award and will not be accepted.
The ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø 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 ·¬ÇÑÉçÇøâ€™s Code of Conduct Declaration for Recognition.
Our selection panels 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 panel 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 ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø 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
A generous gift from Dr Alfred Bader resulted in the establishment of the Bader Prize in 1989.
Dr Bader founded the Aldrich Chemical Company, in Wisconsin, with Jack Eisendrath in 1951. As Aldrich rapidly expanded internationally in the 1950s and '60s, Bader merged with Sigma International, to form Sigma-Aldrich in 1975. During his time as Chairman of the company, from its inception in 1951 until 1991, Bader amassed an impressive library of rare chemicals, and the Sigma catalogue became the standard reference text for many chemists looking for physical and structural data.
Born into a Jewish family in Vienna in 1924, Bader was evacuated to Britain in the Kindertransport in 1938. Following this period he spent time at an internment camp in Canada before completing his education at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Later, Bader studied for his PhD under Louis Fieser at Harvard.
Throughout his life, he harboured a great interest in art, and had a large collection of 'Old Master' paintings. After retiring from Sigma-Aldrich he devoted his life to philanthropy, as well as his art collection, and published his memoirs - "Adventures of a Chemist Collector" and "Chemistry and Art". He was awarded eleven honorary degrees for his service to chemical research and philanthropy. Bader died in 2018, aged 94.
| Year | Name | Institution | Citation |
| 2025 | Professor Anita Maguire | University College Cork | Awarded for the development of a diverse range of synthetic organic methodologies and protocols, and their applications to medicinal chemistry. |
| 2024 | Professor Bruce Turnbull | University of Leeds | Awarded for the development and application of bioorthogonal approaches in engineering functional protein and carbohydrate based systems. |
| 2023 | Professor Marc Vendrell | The University of Edinburgh | Awarded for the design and synthesis of activatable fluorophores, and their application in high-resolution biological imaging and translational medicine. |
| 2022 | Professor Ross Denton | The University of Nottingham | Awarded for the development of novel synthesis methods and catalysts based on organophosphorus and organosilicon chemistry, and their application in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and natural products. |
| 2021 | Professor Alison Hulme | University of Edinburgh | Awarded for creative applications of alkyne chemistry in synthesis and label-free Raman imaging in cells. |
| 2020 | Professor Edward Anderson | University of Oxford | Awarded for creative contributions to organic synthesis and synthetic methodology |
| 2019 | Professor Jason Micklefield | The University of Manchester | Awarded for innovative contributions to the elucidation of natural product biosynthetic pathways and the development of enzymes for synthesis. |
| 2018 | Professor Joseph Harrity | The University of Sheffield | Awarded for the development of innovative strategies for the synthesis of functionalised heterocyclic scaffolds. |
| 2017 | Professor Michael Greaney | The University of Manchester | Awarded for creative contributions to C-H activation, dynamic covalent chemistry, and reactive intermediates in organic synthesis. |
| 2016 | Professor Thomas Wirth | Cardiff University | Awarded for his break-through discoveries in hypervalent iodine chemistry and flow-based synthesis that have led the field and have opened up completely new areas of research. |
| 2015 | Professor Stephen Clark | University of Glasgow | Awarded for the development of new reactions and strategies for the efficient synthesis of highly functionalised natural products. |
| 2014 | Professor David Procter | University of Manchester | Awarded for significant contributions to synthetic methods development for the efficient construction of complex molecules of biological interest. |
| 2013 | Professor Jonathan Goodman | University of Cambridge | Distinguished for his innovative applications of computational studies to understanding molecular properties and synthesis design in organic chemistry and reactivity in enzyme chemistry. |
| 2012 | Professor John Murphy | University of Strathclyde | Awarded for his many highly creative and original contributions to reactivity in organic synthesis, including free radical chemistry, the concept of the radical-polar crossover reaction and electron transfer in the invention of organic super electron reducing agents. |
| 2011 | Karl J Hale | Queen's University, Belfast | Awarded for outstanding contributions to organic chemistry, including elegant total syntheses and pioneering new synthetic methods of broad use to the community. |
| His significant contributions to the synthesis and medicinal chemistry of bioactive natural products and their analogs. | |||
| 2010 | Kevin Booker-Milburn | University of Bristol | Awarded for his original and innovative contributions to photochemical reactions and techniques, and to transition metal-mediated procedures. |
| 2009 | Douglas Philp | University of St Andrews | Awarded for his creative research into supramolecular chemistry and the design of molecular self-replication systems. |
| 2008 | Veronique Gouverneur | University of Oxford | Awarded for her important contributions to synthetic organofluorine chemistry. |
| 2007 | Dr J B Spencer | University of Cambridge | Distinguished for his breakthroughs in the biosynthesis of clinically important natural products. |
| 2006 | Professor David M Hodgson | University of Oxford | Distinguished for his development of novel synthetic technology for use in total synthesis, including novel carbenoid, lithiation and epoxide chemistry. |
| 2005 | This Award was not awarded for 2005 | ||
| 2004 | Dr Robert S Ward | University of Wales, Swansea | Distinguished for his contributions to natural product chemistry, particularly concerning the synthesis of lignans including podophyllotoxins. |
| 2003 | Dr Hamish McNab | University of Edinburgh | |
| 2002 | Dr Stuart G Warren | University of Cambridge | Distinguished for his contributions to organophosphorus and organosulfur chemistry, and for his outstanding achievements in chemical education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. |
| 2001 | Dr David R M Walton | University of Sussex | Distinguished for his fundamental interdisciplinary contributions to the synthesis of carbon-based materials and inorganic nanostructures, and for his elucidation of nanotube self-assembly mechanisms. |
| 2000 | Dr Tom L Gilchrist | University of Liverpool | Distinguished for his contributions to heterocyclic chemistry and the development of novel heteroatom-containing dienes and dienophiles. |
| 1999 | Dr R J Whitby | University of Southampton | Distinguished for his contributions to the application of early transition metals to organic synthesis. |
| 1998 | Dr Don A Whiting | University of Nottingham | Distinguished for his contributions to the synthesis, biosynthesis and structure elucidation of natural products. |
| 1997 | Dr D A Widdowson | Imperial College London | Distinguished for his major contributions over many years in natural products, bioorganic and organometallic chemistry. Special mention should be made of his work on the biosynthesis of alkaloids and steroids; on the mechanisms of NADH and coenzyme B12 dependent reactions; new methods for aromatic fluorination; and perhaps most importantly for his work with arenetricarbonylchromiun complexes. |
| 1996 | I Paterson | ||
| 1995 | G W J Fleet | ||
| 1994 | A B Holmes | ||
| 1993 | R W Alder | ||
| 1992 | M R Bryce | ||
| 1991 | W B Motherwell | ||
| 1990 | D H Williams | ||
| 1989 | S G Davies |
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Research & Innovation Prizes
Our Research & Innovation Prizes recognise brilliant chemical scientists carrying out amazing work in academia and industry. They include prizes for those at different career stages in chemistry and for those working in specific fields, as well as interdisciplinary prizes and prizes for those in specific roles
Selection panel
Professor AnnMarie O'Donoghue
Durham University, UK
Professor Vijay Chudasama
University College London, UK
Dr Tom Corrie
Syngenta, UK
Professor Ai-Lan Lee
University of Edinburgh, UK
Professor Anita Maguire
University College Cork, Ireland
Professor Angela Russell
University of Oxford, UK
Professor Robert Stockman
University of Nottingham, UK