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Faraday open prize: Faraday Lectureship Prize

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Faraday open prize: Faraday Lectureship Prize

The Faraday Lectureship Prize is awarded for outstanding contributions to the chemical sciences in the area of physical 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 ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø members
Nominee location Global
Career stage All career stages

Previous winners

About this prize

Nominations for this prize will close on Wednesday 14 January 2026 at 17:00 GMT. 

The Faraday Lectureship Prize is awarded for outstanding contributions to the chemical sciences in the area of physical 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 Faraday 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:

  • Faraday 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:

  • The prize is open to ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø members only. This will be checked by ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø staff and the nominee’s ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø membership must be confirmed at the point of nomination – it is not sufficient to have a membership application in process.
  • There are no career stage restrictions associated with this 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.

Submitting your nomination

Please use our online nominations system to submit the following information:

  • Your name, contact details, and ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø 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 prize 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

The Faraday Lectureship Prize is named after Michael Faraday, an elected fellow and keen advocate of the then-called Chemical Society.

Faraday was born in 1791 in Surrey. He started work as an apprentice bookseller in 1804 where he met William Dance, a member of the Royal Institute, who helped him attend Sir Humphrey Davy's lectures. These inspired him to apply to Davy for employment and in 1813 he began as a laboratory assistant at the Royal Institute (where he would later become director). After less than a year, Faraday resigned his post in order to accompany Davy on a tour through France, Switzerland and Italy where he initiated lasting friendships with highly regarded philosophers.

On his return, in 1815, he resumed work at the Royal Institution and began research which he continued throughout his life. Published research included the discovery of magneto-electricity (1831), the great law of electrochemical composition (1833), and researches in atmospheric magnetism (1850). Some of his greatest chemical discoveries were the condensation of gases, including chlorine, and the production of new hydrocarbons, including benzol.

Faraday was highly regarded for his enthusiastic lecturing style, which often included successful experimental demonstrations. His Royal Institute lectures began in 1827 on the topic of Chemical Philosophy, and closed in 1860 with a Christmas course on the Chemical History of a Candle. Faraday was widely recognised for his contributions through numerous awards, including the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø's Copley, Rumford and Royal Medals, and election as a member to all the great scientific bodies in Europe and America. Faraday gradually withdrew from active duties and died on 25 August 1867. 

The Faraday Lectureship Prize was established in 1867. 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 ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Recognition Fund. 

 
YearNameInstitutionCitation
2025Professor John Plane
 University of Leeds
Awarded for the development of experimental and theoretical physical chemistry, as applied to the investigation of the impact of cosmic dust in planetary atmospheres.
2024Professor Jenny NelsonImperial College LondonAwarded for contributions to the understanding and development of novel electronic materials for solar energy conversion.
2023Professor Enrique Iglesia F·¬ÇÑÉçÇøUniversity of California, BerkeleyAwarded for outstanding contributions to the mechanistic understanding of catalysis, leading scientific innovation for environmental protection and the production of energy carriers, fuels, and chemicals.
2022Professor Michael Wasielewski F·¬ÇÑÉçÇøNorthwestern UniversityAwarded for contributions toward understanding electron spin dynamics in molecular systems for applications in quantum information science.
2021Professor Laura GagliardiUniversity of ChicagoAwarded for contributions to the development of multireference quantum chemical approaches to describe catalysis and excited state phenomena.
2020Professor Richard CatlowUniversity College London and Cardiff UniversityAwarded for the development and application of computational methods in conjunction with experiment as powerful and predictive tools in the physical chemistry of solids.
2018Professor Graham HutchingsCardiff UniversityAwarded for seminal investigations of heterogeneous catalysis by gold and gold containing nanomaterials.
2016Professor Graham FlemingLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California at BerkeleyAwarded for experimental and theoretical achievements that have redefined the study and understanding of fundamental chemical and photobiological processes in liquids, solutions and proteins.
2014Professor Michel CheUniversité Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6 & Institut Universitaire de FranceAwarded for pioneering a molecular approach to catalyst design by bridging the gap between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis through the new field of interfacial coordination chemistry.
2012Professor Richard SaykallyUniversity of California, BerkeleyAwarded for the development of powerful new spectroscopic technology and its application in pioneering studies of molecular ions, water clusters, liquid water and aqueous solutions and their surfaces. 
2010John PolanyiUniversity of TorontoAwarded for his seminal contributions in advancing understanding of molecular reaction dynamics in the gas phase and at the gas-surface interface.
2007Professor Gerhard ErtlFritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-GesellschaftAwarded for his significant advances in surface science and nano-catalysis, and especially for his signal contributions to our understanding of catalytic mechanisms.
2004Professor Alexander PinesUniversity of California, BerkeleyAwarded for his many profound theoretical and experimental contributions to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, through which NMR has become a powerful analytical tool for materials of many kinds.
2001Professor Richard N ZareStanford UniversityAwarded for his seminal applications of laser techniques to a very wide range of chemical problems and profound insights into the dynamics of molecular interactions.
1998Professor A David BuckinghamUniversity of Cambridge
1995Professor William KlempererHarvard University
1992Yuan T LeeAcademia Sinica, Taiwan
1989John Meurig ThomasThe Royal Institution
1986Professor Alan CarringtonUniversity of Oxford
1983Professor John S RowlinsonUniversity of Oxford
1980Sir George PorterThe Royal Institution
1977Manfred EigenMax Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
1974Sir Frederick DaintonUniversity of Oxford
1970Gerhard HerzbergNational Research Council of Canada
1968Charles A CoulsonUniversity of Oxford
1965Ronald G W NorrishUniversity of Cambridge
1961Sir Christopher IngoldUniversity College London
1958Leopold Ruzicka

1956Otto Hahn

1953Sir Cyril HinshelwoodUniversity of Oxford
1950George C de HevesyUniversity of Ghent
1947Sir Robert RobinsonUniversity of Oxford
1939Irving LangmuirGeneral Electric
1936Lord Ernest Rutherford of NelsonUniversity of Cambridge
1933Professor Peter DebyeUniversity of Leipzig
1930Professor Niels BohrCopenhagen University
1927Richard WillstaetterUniversity of Munich
1924Robert A MillikanCalifornia Institute of Technology
1914Svante A ArrheniusNobel Institute for Physical Research, Stockholm
1911Theodore W RichardsHarvard University
1907Hermann Emil FischerUniversity of Berlin
1904Wilhelm OstwaldUniversity of Leipzig
1895John Strutt, Lord RayleighThe Royal Institution
1889Dmitri I MendeleevSaint Petersburg University
1881Hermann F L von HelmholtzUniversity of Berlin
1879Charles-Adolphe WurtzUniversity of Paris
1875August W von HofmannUniversity of Berlin
1872Stanislao Cannizzaro

1869Jean-Baptiste A Dumas 

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Selection panel

Andrew Mount

Professor Andrew Mount

University of Edinburgh, UK

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Dr Nicholle Bell

Dr Nicholle Bell

University of Edinburgh, UK

Dr Bryan Bzdek

Dr Bryan Bzdek

University of Bristol, UK

Dr Basile Curchod

Professor Basile Curchod

University of Bristol, UK

Dr Chun Ann Huang wearig pale blue shirt and grey sweater smiling at camera

Dr Chun Ann Huang

Imperial College London, UK

Susan Perkin

Professor Susan Perkin

University of Oxford, UK

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Dr Greg Price

BIOVIA, USA