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.