The RACI Supramolecular Chemistry Award

Awarded annually by The RACI Supramolecular Division for :-

Outstanding early career research in supramolecular chemistry

Thieme Chemistry Journals Award (2023)

The Australian Research Award for Medicinal Chemistry (2023)

Peter Schwerdtfeger Award (2022)

Congratulations to Christoph Nitsche, Future Fellowship recipient

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Congratulation to RSC's Dr. Christoph Nitsche on recieving the John Wade Early Career Researcher Award at the Solid Phase Symposium 2022. This competitive award is presented every two years by the Australian Peptide Association at the Modern Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis Symposium and is currently sponsored/supported by CSIRO publishing.

Foreign Member, Academia Europaea

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Coote on being awarded the RACI Physical Division Medal in 2019.

The Physical Chemistry Division was established in 1974 after several successful events that brought together physical chemists nationally. To date, the Division continues to serve all those teaching and researching in physical chemistry and supports equity, diversity and inclusion in all divisional activities.

Congratulations to Dr Jamie Hicks on being awarded the ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award.

The DECRA scheme is a separate element of the Discovery Program. The DECRA scheme provides focused research support for early career researchers in both teaching and research, and research-only positions

Congratulations to Dr Jamie Hicks on being awarded the AINSE Early Career Research Grant. The Early Career Researcher Grant consists of a A$10,000 payment given to persons in the first five years of their postdoctoral research career. The grant can be spent on travel, accommodation, consumables and carer requirements, subject to AINSE discretion.

Congratulations to Dr. Nick Cox on being awarded The International Conference of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems (ICMRBS) Founders Medal. Dr. Cox is recognised for his achievement in developing and applying high-field EPR techniques to elucidate water splitting in oxidative photosynthesis and to the study of metal cofactors in metalloenzymes.

ICMRBS was co-founded by Oleg Jardetzky, Mildred Cohn, and Robert Shulman in 1964. The conference has been organized biannually over the past half century, and currently attracts between 800 and 1,000 scientists to a six-day scientific forum held at different locations across the world.

In 2002, the ICMRBS Council established the Founders' Medal to recognize exceptional contributions by young scientists to the development and/or progress of the field of magnetic resonance in biological systems.

Nominations are invited for this prestigious medal to be presented at the forthcoming XXIXth ICMRBS meeting, which will be held in Boston, MA, USA, August 23-28, 2020. The award winner will receive the Founders' Medal and $3,000 USD, and she/he will be invited to present a lecture at the above mentioned conference.

Congratulations to Dr Nicholas White on becoming a Rennie Memorial Medallist Awardee 2020. The Rennie Memorial Medal is awarded by the RACI for excellence in research in Chemical Science.

It is awarded annually to a financial member of the RACI with less than eight years of professional experience since completing their most recent relevant qualification of a BSc, BSc (Hons), MSc or PhD, who has contributed most towards the development of some branch of the chemical science. The contribution is judged by the research work published during the 10 years immediately preceding the award.

Further details available on the RACI Website

Congratulations to Associate Professor Malcolm McLeod - 2020 Churchill Fellowship Award Recipient.

The prestigious Churchill Fellowship is an award offered to Australians from all walks of life to address challenges facing contemporary Australia. This year there were 112 recipients of the Churchill Fellowships including 6 from the ACT. The award provides opportunities for travel to meet and work alongside leaders of their fields while promoting the exchange of knowledge and experience.

Assoc. Prof. Mal McLeod has received the award with plans to visit leading international drug checking services (Austria, Netherlands and Portugal) to rapidly improve the analytical chemistry capabilities here in Australia.

For more detail on the Churchill Fellowships and a full list of recipients please visit the Winston Churchill Trust's website. For more details on Mal's project please visit his Fellow page.

The field this year was highly competitive for the David Syme Research Prize with nominations from across Australia. After considerable discussion the committee's decision to award Luke Connal this year's prize included the demonstrated strength and excellence of his research, his research leadership in the program, and also the commercial and industrial interest and potential of his work.

Commemorating the contributions of Sir Paul Callaghan to magnetic resonance research, education and development in Australia and New Zealand the Sir Paul Callaghan medal recognises a senior researcher within 15 years of their PhD for his/her contribution to magnetic resonance in Australia.

Dr Nick Cox is the 2019 medal recipient and you can read about recent updates on Nicks work in one of ANZMAGazine issues. Included in the article is Nicks relfection on what was some of the most helpful career advice he has received; " Frank Neese once told me that the only thing worth worrying about is doing good work, and the rest works itself out".

Dr Annie Colebatch was awarded The J G Russell Award in 2020 for her research activity. Dr Colebatch's research focuses on using liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs), which can release energy on demand and be "refuelled", to meet the challenge of clean energy. She will use the award to purchase a second pressure reactor to facilitate multiple students conducting experiments concurrently, allowing flexibility in project design and improving productivity.

This award is valued at $7,000 each and is supported by the generosity of the late Miss J Russell.

Dr Lara Malins was awarded The Athel Beckwith Lectureship in the Organic Chemistry Divisions for an early career researcher.

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Coote on being awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research.

Professor Michelle Coote is an ARC Laureate Fellow who has made sustained contributions to chemistry at the highest level, and is also recognised for her contributions to the profession and to advancing equity and diversity in STEM.

Her research, which spans both computational and experimental chemistry, can be summarised in two broad areas: polymer chemistry and synthetic method development.

She is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, has received numerous national and international numerous awards including every major research award of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and has published 270 research publications (1/3 in the last 5 years) that have attracted over 8500 citations at an h-index of 52.

She is best known for her contributions to the polymer field; materials which now dominate every aspect of our lives.

Her more recent research has focussed on changing the way in which chemical reactions are triggered. They are usually driven by heat in conjunction with expensive (and often toxic) catalysts to lower the energy requirements.

Michelle's recent work has focussed on harnessing alternative drivers of chemical reactions (electricity, light and mechanical force). For instance, she has recently shown that charged groups can be used to selectively manipulate photochemical processes, developed a new safe methylation technique based on electrochemistry, and provided the first demonstration that electric fields can catalyse chemical reactions. In the latter case, her 2016 Nature paper is already cited more than 160 times and has sparked a new field of research.

Associate Professor Luke Connal was awarded the Grimwade Prize in Industrial Chemistry.

In 1906 Frederick Sheppard Grimwade presented a prize of one thousand pounds to the University for the promotion of the study of Industrial Chemistry. Eligible candidates consist of undergraduates, graduates of the University of Melbourne and graduates from other tertiary institution whose degrees are recognised by the Faculty of Science. Candidates must have spent at least three terms in study or research in a laboratory or laboratories of the University of Melbourne. A candidate should submit an original thesis within 5 years of completion, embodying the results of an investigation pursued by the candidate in Victoria, in connection with some branch of industrial chemistry (in a subject approved by the Faculty). The committee for the Grimwade Prize consists of the Head of the School of Chemistry and one or more members appointed annually by the Faculty of Science.

Congratulations to Dr Christoph Nitsche on being awarded the ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award.

The DECRA scheme is a separate element of the Discovery Program. The DECRA scheme provides focused research support for early career researchers in both teaching and research, and research-only positions

Dr Lara Malins was awarded the ACT Young Tall Poppy Award for her research which aims to unlock peptides and proteins for their therapeutic potential.

Dr Mark Ellison won the Award for Teaching Excellence in the Joint Colleges of Sciences Excellence in Education Award.

Mark considers teaching a privilege, it allows him to be involved in the development of confident, critical and knowledgeable people who are potential leaders in their field of science. His modernisation of the chemistry curriculum, and dedication to teaching, have resulted in a sustained improvement of retention of students in chemistry.

Dr Lara Malins was awarded The J G Russell Award in 2018 for her research activity. Dr Malins' research aims to develop a new synthetic approach to valuable amino acid derivatives and their rapid incorporation into peptide analogues, including promising new antibiotic candidates.

This award is valued at $7,000 each and is supported by the generosity of the late Miss J Russell.

Dr Nicholas White won the Award for Teaching Excellence (Early Career) in the Joint Colleges of Sciences Excellence in Education Award.

Nick has modernised the inorganic chemistry curriculum, preparing entirely new lecture and laboratory courses. He tries to bring relevant innovations to his teaching, a current focus is to bring team-based learning to the first year course.

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Coote on being awarded the Paul Schleyer Lectureship 2019.

The Schleyer Lecture is held annually at the University of Georgia, and each year a guest lecturer is nominated to present on their research in the field of organic chemistry. The inaugural lecture took place in 2001 in honour of renowned American organic chemist Prof Paul von Rague Schleyer shortly after the publication of his 1000th scientific paper.

Congratulations to Dr. Christoph Nitsche on being awarded the Rising Star Fellowship from Freie Universität Berlin 2018.

The Rising Star Fellowship Program of the Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy seeks to attract outstanding early-career researchers who have completed their doctorates within the last four years - preferably from abroad. The Rising Star fellows will take part in the research activities of their host-research groups, will be absorbed into existing research networks (CRCs, BBIB, research training groups, etc.) and will publish their results together with them.

The Leighton Memorial Medal commemorates the distinguished career of A E Leighton. As a staunch supporter of the RACI, Leighton carried out an enormous amount of work to secure the RACI Royal Charter. The Leighton Memorial Medal is the RACI's most prestigious medal and is awarded in recognition of eminent services to chemistry in Australia in the broadest sense, including research, technology and service to the RACI, public service and national leadership.

Congratulations to Professor Gottfried Otting and Professor Michelle Coote on being awarded the Australian Laureate Fellowship from 2017-22.

The Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme reflects the Commonwealth's commitment to support excellence in research by attracting world-class researchers and research leaders to key positions in Australia.

The objectives of the Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme are to:


attract and retain outstanding researchers and research leaders of international reputation
support ground-breaking, internationally competitive research
provide an excellent research training environment and exemplary mentorship to nurture early-career researchers
forge strong links among researchers, the international research community and/or industry
expand Australia's knowledge base and research capability
enhance the scale and focus of research in the Science and Research Priorities.

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Coote for being awarded the ARC Georgina Sweet Fellows.

Professor Michelle Coote's Laureate project plans to study how to control chemical reactions via pH-switchable electrostatic catalysis. The catalysis developed in this project aims to accelerate and control the chemical reactions used in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and materials, providing significant practical benefits to the industry. This project also offers an opportunity to train the next generation of chemists in the principals of computer-aided chemical design.

Dr Lara Malins was awarded first prize in the APS Dr. Bert L. Schram Award.

Congratulations to Dr Jamie Hicks on being awarded the Mollie Holman Medal in 2016.

The Mollie Holman Medal was established in 1998 and is named after the late pioneering physiologist Emeritus Professor Mollie Homan AO, in honour of her significant contributions to science and education. These medals are among the highest academic honours we bestow, and mark the recipients as researchers of the higher order.

Each year, a maximum of ten medals are awarded to doctoral students, who have fulfilled their degree requirements and presented their faculty's best thesis of the year.

The Vice-Chancellor's commendations for thesis excellence are also awarded annually to outstanding doctoral and research master's thesis excellence. A maximum of five Commendations are awarded each year.

These schemes are managed by Monash Graduate Education. Guidelines and information on the nomination and selection processes can be accessed from the MGE intranet.

Congratulations to Professor Gottfried Otting on being elected as an International Society for Magnetic Resonance (ISMAR) Fellow in 2016.

In 2008, the ISMAR Council established the Fellowship program to recognize members of the magnetic resonance community for notable achievements. Fellows are elected on the basis of their contributions to the field of magnetic resonance, both through the impact of their research on the magnetic resonance community itself and through their efforts to advance the appreciation of magnetic resonance in the broader scientific community. Fellowship in ISMAR carries with it an associated responsibility to serve as an advocate for the field of magnetic resonance.

Every year, the ISMAR Fellows Committee solicits nominations for new Fellows from current ISMAR members. The Fellows Committee then selects up to 10 candidates and conducts an election, with all current Fellows being asked to vote on the candidates. A maximum of four new Fellows are elected annually.

Dr Jamie Hicks was awarded the Reaxys PhD Prize in 2016 for his presentation titled Utilising Extremely Bulky Amide Ligands to Stabilise Highly Reactive Two-Coordinate Transition.

Dr. Hicks was awarded USD $2000 and joined a private network of 300+ talented chemists from around the world, the Reaxys Prize Club.

The Reaxys PhD Prize recognizes accomplished young chemists for their innovative and rigorous research. This global competition is open to anyone who is doing or has recently completed a PhD in any discipline of chemistry.

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Coote on being awarded the RACI HG Smith Medal for 2016.

The Medal recognize contributions to the development of some branch of chemical sciences. The Medal shall be awarded annually to a member of the RACI who, in the opinion of the RACI Board, has contributed most to the development of some branch of chemical science; this contribution will be judged by research work published or accepted for publication during the ten years, or equivalent relative to opportunity, immediately preceding the award.

Dr Jamie Hicks was awarded the Springer International Thesis Award. This highly prestigious prize is awarded annually for the best PhD theses in the world. Jamie's thesis was published in Springer.

The medal, bearing the words "For a Thesis on Chemical Research", is designed to give recognition of outstanding achievement in chemistry and to promote chemical communication.

The Board of the RACI awards the Cornforth Medal in honour of the work of Sir John Cornforth AC CBE FRS - an Australian-British chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975.

The medal is awarded to the candidate who is judged to have completed the most outstanding PhD thesis in a branch of chemistry, chemical science or chemical technology under the auspices of an Australian University; and whose degree has been approved, but not necessarily conferred, in the previous 13 months.

The award requires nomination by the deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) of an Australian University or person holding the equivalent office at the University. The nominated candidate is required to be a current member for a minimum of one year.

There is only one medal awarded each year, and if the committee considers that none of the theses submitted reach an appropriate standard, no award will be made.

Congratulations to Dr Christoph Nitsche on being awarded the PhD Prize for Medicinal Chemsitry from the German Chemcial Society (GDCh) in 2015.

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Coote on receiving the 2015 Pople Medal.

This is the Asia-Pacific Association of Theoretical & Computational Chemists (APATCC) prize for an outstanding younger theoretical/computational chemist. The selection is the result of a secret ballot of the entire APATCC Board and is highly competitive. The award will be presented at the APCTCC-7 Conference to be held in Taiwan in January 2016. Congratulations to Michelle on this richly deserved recognition

Congratulations to Dr Christoph Nitsche on being awarded the Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation from 2015-2018.

Feodor Lynen Early Career Fellowships are highly competitive awards made by the Humboldt Foundation to early career post-doctoral researchers (up to four years after completing a doctorate) to carry out research with a Humboldt host in an institution outside Germany for 6 to 24 months.

Dr Alexey Glushenkov was awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Early Career Researcher Award for Research Excellence in 2014.

Dr Alexey Glushenkov was awarded the Endeavour Research Fellowship in 2014.

Mark Ellison was awarded the Office for Learning & Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning.

Mark was awarded for outstanding commitment to chemistry education and many years of inspiring students to learn chemistry by showing why it is important, relevant and exciting.

Professor Gottfried Otting was awarded the ANZMAG Medal in 2013.

The ANZMAG Medal is open to all financial members of the Society who meet the eligibility criteria. The medal is designed to recognize outstanding contributions to magnetic resonance in Australia and/or NZ. While research contributions are of primary importance, other contributions, including teaching of magnetic resonance or service to the discipline, will also be considered.

Congratulations to Dr Alexey Glushenkov on being awarded the France - Australia Science Innovation Collaboration (FASIC) Program Early Career Fellowship for 2013.

The FASIC program is a joint fund to support high calibre Australian and French early career researchers (ECRs) nominated by their institutions, to expand research and innovation activities and to initiate substantial research networks and linkages to support both countries' research and innovation priorities.

Dr Lara Malins was awarded the RACI Feutrill Prize at the 19th International Conference on Organic Synthesis.

Dr Lara Malins was awarded the RJW Le Fèvre Research Scholar in Chemistry at the University of Sydney. The Award was to an oustanding female postgraduate student in Chemistry.

Professor Michelle Coote was awarded The David Sangster Polymer Science and Technology Achievement Award in 2011.

The aim of this award is to encourage their work in polymer science or technology and to help them gain international recognition. This award is designed to fill a gap between the Treloar Prize and the senior awards of the Polymer Division, namely the Polymer Division Citations and the Australian Polymer Medal.

Dr Lara Malins was awarded the John A. Lamberton Research Scholarship at the University of Sydney. Dr Malins was awarded for academic excellence and outstanding research potential.

Congratulations to Professor Gottfriend Otting on being awarded the Humboldt Research Award in 2010.

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants up to 100 Humboldt Research Awards to internationally leading researchers of all disciplines from abroad in recognition of their academic record to date.

The award amount is €60,000. Award winners are also invited to conduct a research project of their choice at a research institution in Germany in cooperation with specialist colleagues there. The award enables a total stay of between six months and a full year, which can be split into multiple stays.

We strive to offer our guest researchers individualised support and funding. Amongst the benefits available to award winners are invitations to numerous events and the opportunity to attend language courses. Our alumni sponsorship measures flexibly support every Humboldtian's individual journey through life, in both their careers and their future collaborations.

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Coote on being awarded the Le Fèvre Medal in 2010 for research in basic Chemistry.

The Le Fèvre Medal for research in chemistry commemorates the work of the late Professor Raymond James Wood Le Fèvre FAA FRS. Its purpose is to recognise outstanding basic research in chemistry by researchers up to 10 years post-PhD in the calendar year of nomination, except in the case of significant interruptions to a research career. It is restricted to candidates who are normally resident in Australia and for research conducted mainly in Australia. The medal is awarded annually at a Royal Australian Chemical Institute function. From 2018 this will consist of a medal and a $4000 honorarium.

The Australian Academy of Science encourages nominations of female candidates and of candidates from a broad geographical distribution.

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Coote on being awarded an ARC Future Fellowship (Level 3) in 2010.

Future Fellowships provide four-year fellowships to outstanding Australian mid-career researchers. In addition, the ARC may award the Administering Organisation up to $60,000 of non-salary funding per annum which may be used for personnel, equipment, travel and field research costs directly related to the Future Fellow's research.

The Medal shall be awarded annually to a member of the RACI who, in the opinion of the RACI Board, has contributed most to the development of some branch of chemical science; this contribution will be judged by research work published or accepted for publication during the ten years, or equivalent relative to opportunity, immediately preceding the award.
Candidates may apply or be nominated. The successful candidate will deliver a lecture on an occasion convenient to the recipient and the RACI, and may be invited to lecture to other Branches.

Megan O'Mara was awarded the Young Australian Biophysicist Award in 2009 for her talk "Linking bacterial structures to human multi-drug transporter function". The award carries a cash prize of $500

Dr Lara Malins was awarded the College prize for Excellence at Boston University. Dr Malins was recognised as the graduate with the highest academic achievement record.

The premier award of the RACI Inorganic Division. The Award is based on the candidate's scientific work published in the past 10 years, together with other evidence of his or her standing in the international community.

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Coote on becoming a Rennie Memorial Medallist Awardee in 2006. The Rennie Memorial Medal is awarded by the RACI for excellence in research in Chemical Science.

It is awarded annually to a financial member of the RACI with less than eight years of professional experience since completing their most recent relevant qualification of a BSc, BSc (Hons), MSc or PhD, who has contributed most towards the development of some branch of the chemical science. The contribution is judged by the research work published during the 10 years immediately preceding the award.

Further details available on the RACI Website

Professor Gottfried Otting was awarded the ARC Federation Fellowship in 2002-2007.

Federation Fellowships are Australian professorial research fellowships that were instigated by the Australian Government as part of its Backing Australia's Ability initiative. They were initially designed to compete with prestigious overseas grants in an attempt to lure back high-profile Australian researchers from foreign institutions. The first round of Fellowships in 2001 were awarded to 15 researchers, 6 of whom were working overseas at the time.

New funding to the scheme ceased in 2008, with existing fellowships continuing as before. It was replaced by the Australian Laureate Fellowships.

A donation was made by David Syme of Melbourne in 1904 for the foundation of an annual prize to be given for the best original research work produced in Australia during the preceding two years in Biology, Physics, Chemistry, or Geology.

Preference is given to original research of value to the industrial and commercial development of Australia.

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Coote on being awarded the ARC Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2002.

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Coote on being awarded the IUPAC Young Scientist Prize (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) in 2001.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) awards the IUPAC Prize for Young Chemists for the best Ph.D. thesis in the chemical sciences, as described in a 1000-word essay. The winners will each receive a cash prize of USD 1000 and a free trip to the IUPAC Congress, 1-6 July 2001, Brisbane, Australia. Each prize winner will also present a poster at the IUPAC Congress describing his/her award winning work.

The medal, bearing the words "For a Thesis on Chemical Research", is designed to give recognition of outstanding achievement in chemistry and to promote chemical communication.

The Board of the RACI awards the Cornforth Medal in honour of the work of Sir John Cornforth AC CBE FRS - an Australian-British chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975.

The medal is awarded to the candidate who is judged to have completed the most outstanding PhD thesis in a branch of chemistry, chemical science or chemical technology under the auspices of an Australian University; and whose degree has been approved, but not necessarily conferred, in the previous 13 months.

The award requires nomination by the deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) of an Australian University or person holding the equivalent office at the University. The nominated candidate is required to be a current member for a minimum of one year.

There is only one medal awarded each year, and if the committee considers that none of the theses submitted reach an appropriate standard, no award will be made.

The award is given to a financial member of the RACI, with no more than 12 years of professional experience since completing their most recent relevant qualification, for contributions to the development of organometallicchemistry.The eligibility period may be extended, to take into account interruptions, consistent with Australian Research Council (ARC) guidelines. The contribution will be for research work published, or accepted for publication, including patents and industrial reports. The work covers the period of ten years immediately preceding the award, with the majorproportionbeing carried out in Australia. The award is for any area of organometallic chemistry encompassing synthesis, structure, catalysis, environmental, industrial materials, main group, transition metal and f-block chemistry and bioorganometallics.

Professor Gottfried Otting was awarded the Wallmarkska Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1996.

Professor Gottfried Otting was awarded the FEBS Anniversary Prize of the Gesellschaft für Biologische Chemie in 1993.

FEBS Anniversary Prizes of the Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie were initiated for the 10th anniversary of FEBS by generous capital gifts from Boehringer Mannheim GmbH and Eppendorf AG. They are awarded for outstanding achievements in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology or related sciences. The awardees are selected from researchers under 40 years of age invited to give a lecture at one of the symposia or workshops held during a FEBS Congress and who are from within the FEBS area but not the Congress host country. The prize administration is managed by both FEBS and the Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie (GBM), and up to two Anniversary Prizes of €2000 and a certificate are awarded each year.

Professor Gottfried Otting was awarded The ETH Zurich Latsis Prize in 1992.

The ETH Zurich Latsis Prize is awarded annually to young scientists from all fields. It focuses on excellent and independent research conducted at ETH Zurich. The prize was established in 1985 based on an endowment of the Fondation Latsis Internationale.

Professor Gottfried Otting was awarded the ETH Silver medal for PhD thesis.