This annually presented lectureship recognises early career researchers, typically within 12 years of attaining their PhD or equivalent degree, who have made significant contributions to the field of polymer chemistry. Nominations open in the autumn, and the winner is announced in the spring.
The Lectureship recipient receives:
- £1,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs to attend and present at a leading international meeting
- an invitation to contribute an article to Polymer Chemistry and to receive a complimentary cover for the issue in which the article appears
Our latest award winner 2024
Haritz Sardon
Haritz Sardon has been an Associate Professor at the University of the Basque Country since 2021 and Group leader at POLYMAT. He graduated from the University of the Basque Country in 2011 with honours before joining the group of Dr Hedrick at IBM Almaden Research Centre as a Postdoc in 2012, where he spent 2 years. In 2014 he returned to Spain with a Spanish Ministry grant and joined POLYMAT as a group leader. Haritz Sardon has participated in 145 peer-reviewed publications, with more than 70 as corresponding author. The impact of his work can be measured by the increasing number of citations, near 2000 in 2023. He has been awarded with several awards including the ACS Macomolecules Young Investigator Award, Excellence of Young Researcher in Chemistry Award by the Spanish Royal Society (2021) and the Excellence of Young Researcher in Polymers Award by the Grupo Español de Polímeros (2020).
His overall research aims to prepare new functional polymeric materials using sustainable polymerization processes. Specifically, his investigations involve the use of green polymerization processes such as monomers from plastic recycling, reagents from renewable sources or the use of less hazardous organocatalysts.
See all previous winners
Guidelines for nominators and candidates
Find out who is eligible for this award, about the nomination process and see who is on the selection panel.
Established in 2015, this international lectureship honours early-career scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of polymer chemistry.
Open to all researchers throughout the world
The Polymer Chemistry lectureship is open to all researchers throughout the world. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the 蹤獲扦 and researchers in academia or industry.
Nominators do not need to be senior researchers, and we encourage nominations from people at all career levels.
We believe we have a responsibility to promote inclusivity and accessibility in order to improve diversity. Where possible, we encourage each nominator to consider nominating candidates of all genders, races, and backgrounds.
Please see the RSC's approach to Inclusion and Diversity.
Please note, that current Polymer Chemistry Editorial Board members and previous recipients of this lectureship will not be eligible for the current lectureship.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Polymer Chemistry Lectureship, the candidate must:
- Be an independent researcher, PhD students postdoctoral research associates are not eligible
- Be actively pursuing research within the polymer chemistry field, and have made a significant contribution to the field
- Be at an early stage of their independent career (this should typically be within 12 years of attaining their doctorate or equivalent degree, but appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break, work in systems where their time period to independence may vary or who followed an alternative study path)
- Have a publication as corresponding author in Polymer Chemistry within the 3 years prior to the nominations deadline
Please note, nominations are open until 31 January 2024.
Nominations must be made via email, and include the following:
- The name, affiliation and contact details of the nominee, nominator and referee
- An up-to-date CV of the nominee (1 – 3 A4 page maximum length)
- A letter of recommendation from the nominator (500 words maximum length). The relationship between nominator and nominee should be stated in the letter
- A supporting letter of recommendation from a referee (500 words maximum length). This could be from the nominee’s academic mentor, PhD supervisor, or postdoc for instance. The relationship between referee and nominee should be stated in the letter
- The nominator must confirm that to the best of their knowledge, their nominee’s professional standing is as such that there is no confirmed or potential impediment to them receiving the Lectureship
- Please note that the nominee must be aware that they have been nominated for this lectureship
All eligible nominated candidates will be assessed by a judging panel made up of the Polymer Chemistry Editorial Board. Any Editorial Board members with a conflict of interest will be ineligible for the judging panel.
The judging panel will consider the following core criteria:
- excellence in research, as evidenced in reference to originality and impact
- quality of publications, patents or software
- innovation
- professional standing
- independence
- collaborations and teamwork
- evidence of promising potential
- other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominator
In any instance where multiple nominees are judged to be equally meritorious in relation to these core criteria, the judging panel will use information provided on the nominee’s broader contribution to the chemistry community as an additional criterion. Examples of this could include:
- involvement with RSC community activities
- teaching or demonstrating
- effective mentorship
- service on boards
- committees or panels
- leadership in the scientific community
- peer reviewing
- promotion of diversity and inclusion
- advocacy for chemistry
- public engagement and outreach
Previous winners
2023:
2022:
2021:
2020:
2019:
2018:
2017:
2016:
2015:
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- the team