Category Archives: SHAC Awards

The 2024 Morris Award goes to Carsten Reinhardt

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The Society for the History of Chemistry wishes to announce that the Morris Award for 2024 has been given to Carsten Reinhardt for his outstanding work on the recent history of chemistry and the history of the chemical industry. He has been an innovator and a leader in the history of modern chemistry and chemical industry from the beginning of his career, exploring the instrumental, theoretical, commercial, industrial, and regulatory dimensions of the field that we call chemistry, while emphasizing the frequent “disappearance” of “chemistry” into other fields, such as molecular biology, materials science, nanotechnology, or environmental science. He has a gift for collaboration and cooperation that has greatly benefitted studies in the history of chemistry and chemical technology.  

Carsten Reinhardt took his PhD on chemical research at BASF and Hoechst between 1863 and 1914 at the Technical University of Berlin in 1996. He became Professor for Historical Studies of Science, University of Bielefeld in 2007 and between 2013 and 2016, Reinhardt was President and CEO, Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, USA (now the Science History Institute). From 2017 until 2021, he was the President of the Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Wissenschaften, der Medizin und der Technik (GWMT) and is a co-editor of the Mitteilungen der Fachgruppe Geschichte der Chemie.  

The Morris Award honours the memory of John and Martha Morris, the late parents of Peter Morris, the former editor of Ambix and recognises scholarly achievement in the History of Modern Chemistry (post-1945) or the History of the Chemical Industry. The recipient of the award gives the Morris Award Lecture at an appropriate meeting and this is usually published in Ambix. Previous holders of the award are Ray Stokes (2009), Mary Jo Nye (2012), Anthony Travis (2015), Yasu Furukawa (2018) and Ernst Homburg (2021).   With Best Wishes   Frank James

2024 Morris Award: Call for Nominations

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The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry solicits nominations for the 2024 John and Martha Morris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Modern Chemistry or the History of the Chemical Industry. This award honours the memory of John and Martha Morris, the late parents of Peter Morris, the former editor of Ambix, who has contributed the endowment for this award. The recipient chosen to receive the Morris Award will be expected to deliver a lecture at a meeting of SHAC, where the awardee will be presented with an appropriate framed photograph, picture or document and the sum of £300. The award is international in scope, and nominations are invited from anywhere in the world. Past winners of the Award include Ernst Homburg, Yasu Furukawa, Anthony S. Travis, Mary Jo Nye and Raymond Stokes.

A complete nomination consists of

• a complete curriculum vitae for the nominee, including biographical data, educational background, awards, honours, list of publications, and other service to the profession;

• a letter of nomination summarising the nominee’s outstanding scholarly achievement in either the history of the chemical industry or in the history of recent chemistry (post -1945) and the unique contributions that merit this award; and

• names of two or three individuals for the panel to contact for further information if needed.

Only complete nominations will be considered for the award and the nomination documents must be submitted in electronic form. The Award will be judged by the selection panel on the basis of scholarly publication. All nomination materials should be submitted by e-mail to Peter Morris at doctor@peterjtmorris.plus.com and a separate email which indicates that the material has been submitted should be sent to the same address (a precaution in case of incomplete transmission of documents) for arrival no later than 1 May 2024.

Partington Prize winning essay “Senses and Utility in the New Chemistry” is published Open Access!

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The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry is delighted to announce that Armel Cornu’s Partington Prize winning essay “Senses and Utility in the New Chemistry” is published Open Access in the November 2023 issue of Ambix.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00026980.2023.2265681?src=

The winner

Armel Cornu is a postdoctoral researcher funded by the Swedish Research Council and based at the University of Uppsala in Sweden and the ICT department in Paris. She obtained her doctorate at the University of Uppsala in 2022 with a dissertation titled: “Enlightening Water: Science, Market & Regulation of Mineral Waters in Eighteenth-century France,” before completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her research is characterised by a social and economic approach to the development of chemistry throughout the Enlightenment.

The Partington Prize

The Partington Prize was established in memory of Professor James Riddick Partington, the Society’s first Chairman. It is awarded every three years for an original and unpublished essay on any aspect of the history of alchemy or chemistry. The prize consists of five hundred pounds (£500). The competition is open to anyone with a scholarly interest in the history of alchemy or chemistry who, has not reached thirty-five years of age, or if older is enrolled in a degree programme or has been awarded a master’s degree or PhD within the previous three years. Previous prize-winning essays can be viewed at: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/yamb20/collections/best-paper-partington-prize

Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry Award Scheme 2023

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Opening date: 1 March 2023

Closing date for applications: 31 May 2023

The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry invites applications for its Award Scheme for 2023. SHAC offers two types of award: support for research into the history of chemistry or history of alchemy by both new and independent scholars and support for Subject Development of either history of chemistry or history of alchemy. It is expected that applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application by 31 July 2023. The Awards are most suitable for activities planned to be undertaken during the academic year October 2023–September 2024. However, there will be a two-year window for completion due to ongoing uncertainty over plans for future research projects, conferences, workshops etc.

Research Awards are open to post-graduate students (both masters and doctoral students), those who have obtained a PhD since 1 January 2013 and also to independent scholars. Given that the circumstances of independent scholars differ we are letting members ‘self-define’ and if there are any unclear cases it will be left to the discretion of the Awards Panel.

Awards of up to £1000 will be made to cover research expenses, including travel, accommodation, subsistence (at the discretion of the award panel), the reproduction of documents, and library fees. Applications may also include the costs of reproducing images for publication. The Scheme does not fund the purchase of equipment or course fees. It does not cover the costs of Open Access publication.

In addition, those who have obtained a PhD since 1 January 2013 and independent scholars may apply for the costs of travel to conferences and accommodation, but only in order to give a paper. The Scheme does not pay conference registration fees.

Subject Development Awards of up to £1000 may be made to support activities such as seminars, workshops, colloquia, lecture series, conference sessions, conferences, exhibitions and outreach activities that support either the history of chemistry or history of alchemy as academic subjects. The Awards do not cover the costs of refreshments or catering for these events. The Scheme does not cover the costs of Open Access publication.

Please note that activities covered by the Awards do not have to occur in the UK, and that the Awards are open to members of the Society resident both in the UK and elsewhere. Members who have applied to the Scheme in previous years, whether successfully or not, are entitled to make an application in 2023. Members are only permitted to make one application to each annual Award Scheme (not including the SHAC Special ICHC13 Award Scheme which closed on 28.02.2023).

Applicants must be members of the Society in good standing at the time of making an application, and, if successful, throughout the period of an award. For more information and application forms, please contact grants@ambix.org. Membership enquiries should be made to newjoiner@ambix.org.

An activity report must be submitted at the end of the Award. This will usually be published in SHAC’s Chemical Intelligence newsletter.

Winter 2023 issue of Chemical Intelligence and Awards

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The winter 2023 issue of Chemical Intelligence, edited by Karoliina Pukkinen, is now available online for members to enjoy:

https://www.ambix.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FINAL_ChemicalIntelligence-WINTER2023.pdf

It introduces our new webmaster, Sarah Lang, and new postgraduate representative, Josh Werrett. There are details of the new FOHCS mentoring scheme, obituaries of Trevor Levere, Piyo Rattansi and Peter Spargo, and other SHAC news and reports.

A couple of quick reminders:

28 February 2023 is the closing date for the ICHC Special Award Scheme:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00026980.2022.2134615

1 March 2023 is the opening date for the SHAC 2023 Award Scheme:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00026980.2023.2180223?src=

Application forms for both schemes are available from grants@ambix.org and further details are available in Chemical Intelligence.

Apply for 2023 SHAC Award Schemes!

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SHAC Special ICHC13 Award Scheme – Grants to support attendance at ICHC13 in Vilnius, May 2023

Applicants are invited to apply for grants under a Special Award Scheme from the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC) to support attendance of early-career scholars and independent scholars at the 13th International Conference on the History of Chemistry in Vilnius, Lithuania on 23 May to 27 May 2023. Awards of up to £400 will be made as a contribution towards the cost of travel, accommodation, and registration fees for those giving a paper at the conference. Early-career scholars are defined as post-graduate students (both masters and doctoral students) and those who have obtained a PhD since January 2013. Given that the circumstances of independent scholars differ we are letting members ‘self-define’ and if there are any unclear cases it will be left to the discretion of the Awards Panel.

Applicants must be members of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry in good standing at the time of making an application and if successful through the period of the award. For more information and application forms please contact grants[at]ambix.org stating that you are applying for a grant to attend ICHC.

Details of how to join the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry can be found at https://www.ambix.org/subscription/ . Membership enquiries should be made to newjoiner[at]ambix.org

For further information on the conference – please visit: https://www.ichc2023vilnius.chgf.vu.lt/

The timescale for ICHC in Vilnius is as follows:

Deadline for submitting proposals: 1 December 2022

Notification of acceptance: January 2023

Provisional program: Early February 2023

Final program: April 2023

The deadline for applications to this Award Scheme is 28 February 2023. It is expected that applicants to will be advised of the outcome of their application in time to register for early-bird conference fees which are available until 1 April 2023.

An activity report must be submitted at the end of the conference. This will usually be published in SHAC’s Chemical Intelligence Newsletter.

Please note that applying for a Special ICHC13 Award does not preclude applying to the usual SHAC Award Scheme for 2023.

The SHAC 2023 Award Scheme will open on 1 March 2023 and close on 31 May 2023, with two types of award:

Research Awards: open to post-graduate students (both masters and doctoral students), those who have obtained a PhD within ten years of the preceding January and also to independent scholars. These awards are to support research.

Subject Development Awards: to support activities such as seminars, workshops, colloquia, lecture series, conference sessions, conferences, exhibitions and outreach activities that support either the history of chemistry or history of alchemy as academic subjects.