·¬ÇÑÉçÇø

Eligibility

Individuals named in any of the following roles during the nomination and judging period are not eligible to nominate, be nominated or provide a reference:

• ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Prize Committee members
• ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Subject Community Presidents
• 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 nominees working in the UK and Ireland only.
• Nominees should be an early 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, ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø 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 10 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).

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.
• Information relating to your nominee’s career and professional experience, which will be shared with the committee. Before doing so, ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø 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.
• The name and contact details of one referee. The referee might be the nominee's post-doc or PhD supervisor, line manager, project manager or mentor:
  • The reference should be a maximum of 750 words. Referees will be asked to state their relationship (if any) with the nominee and note any conflicts of interest.
  • All references must be submitted through the online system by the reference deadline, 21 January, 17:00 GMT. Nominations will not go forward to judging without a completed reference. Please ensure you submit your referee's details in plenty of time, to allow them sufficient opportunity to provide their reference.
  • As soon you submit your referee’s details, they will receive an automated e-mail with a link to submit their reference. Please contact us as soon as possible if you experience any issues with this.
  • It is the nominator’s responsibility to ensure that the referee is aware of the nomination, that they should expect an e-mail invitation to submit their reference, and that they are aware of what is required to ensure that the reference is submitted before the deadline.
  • All referees will receive one e-mail reminder from ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø staff in the week before the reference deadline.

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 ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø’s Code of Conduct Declaration for Recognition.

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
• Independence
• Collaborations and teamwork
• Other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominator/referee

The committee will give greater priority to recent work; supporting statements should focus on the nominee's more recent achievements.

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 Edward Harrison Memorial Prize and the Meldola Medal and Prize merged to form the Harrison-Meldola Memorial Prizes in 2008.

The Meldola Prize, a gift of the Society of Maccabaeans, recognised the significant contributions to science of one of its former presidents, Raphael Meldola. Born in 1849, he went on to become an industrial chemist, inventing the oxazine dye Meldola's Blue. He was Professor of Chemistry at the City and Guilds Technical College in Finsbury for 20 years, publishing over 250 papers and reports during this time. 

His scientific interests extended from organic chemistry to entomology, under the mentorship of Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin, and astronomy, leading the British Eclipse Expedition to the Nicobar Islands, India in 1875. Meldola was president of a number of prestigious chemical societies: the Chemical Society (1905-07), the Society of Chemical Industry (1907-09), and the Institute of Chemistry (1912-15).

The Edward Harrison Memorial Prize was established in 1922 through donations from friends and colleagues to commemorate the contributions of Lt-Col Edward Harrison to chemistry. 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.

Having qualified as a pharmaceutical chemist, Harrison attempted to enlist in the army during the First World War, but was unsuccessful. However, with the introduction of gas weapons there was a need for chemists like Harrison to devise a method of defence against this new form of arms.  

Harrison became the Deputy Controller of the Chemical Warfare Department and produced the first serviceable British gas mask. He continuously worked on this during the war until he died of pneumonia. His contributions have hugely impacted the lives of many in the armed forces.