Energy Sector PhD Thesis Award

The Royal Society of Chemistry Energy Sector will award a £500 cash prize for the best PhD thesis awarded in the field of Chemistry for the Energy Sector.

• Applications for the year 2018 are now closed, winners will be announced by March 2019.
• If you are interested in applying for the 2018 Energy Sector PhD Award, please notify the Secretary of the energy Sector who will send you an application reminder in December 2018. 

Eligibility

Open to all candidates that have been awarded (not necessarily graduated) a PhD from a UK university in the calendar year 2018. Their PhD thesis should be original work predominantly in the field of Chemistry that must have application in the Energy Sector.

Adjudication

The RSC Energy Sector Executive Committee decides the prize winner based on a recommendation by the PhD Award Sub-Committee and the decision cannot be challenged.

The purpose of the award is to spotlight UK PhD research in the energy sector. A PhD Award Sub-Committee, formed from RSC Energy Sector Executive Committee and co-opted experts, will assess the application and recommend the winner to the Executive Committee for approval. The sub-committee may seek the advice of other professionals (academics, industrialists, RSC advisors/subject champions) to assess the merits of an application.

The PhD Award Sub-Committee will base their assessment on the criteria below from information provided in the candidate’s Executive Summary and supporting evidence from the PhD thesis itself.

The judging criteria will be based on the following:

• The level to which the work (thesis) addresses a clear identified need in UK or global energy requirements.
• The level to which the work adds significant new understanding to an aspect of the energy sector.
• The level to which the work contributes to quantifiable environmentally sustainable energy provision (CO2 reduction or abatement, reduction in toxic emissions, etc).
• The content and quality of the Executive Summary submitted by the candidate.             

Rules

• Candidates must have been examined and notified of award of PhD (but not necessarily graduated) from a recognised UK university in the calendar year 2018.
• The candidate’s PhD thesis should be original work predominantly in the field of Chemistry that must have application in the Energy Sector.
• Candidates must submit an application via email to The Secretary of the RSC Energy Sector by the deadline of the competition (Details of how to submit electronic copy of thesis will be provided on application).
• The RSC Energy Sector Executive Committee decides the prize winner based on a recommendation by the PhD Award Sub-Committee and this decision cannot be challenged.
• The application must contain:
  • A pro forma application.
  • Executive Summary of their PhD thesis highlighting the relevance of the work to the Energy Sector and the RSC's commitment to tackling global challenges of not more than 1,000 words and an electronic copy of their PhD thesis. The Executive Summary should make clear how their thesis contributes to a genuine need of the Energy Sector and explain the environmental, economic and social benefits of the work. Candidates should note that the content of their Executive Summary will be the primary source of the judges’ consideration.             
  • A letter from their main PhD supervisor recommending the candidate for consideration for this prize and confirming that the candidate meets the criteria for eligibility for the competition.             

Past Winners

2017
Dr Franky Bedoya-Lora
Photo-Electrochemical Reactors with Hematite Photo-anodes for Water and Hydrogen Sulfide Splitting

2016
Dr Abby Casey
Optoelectronic Properties of New Conjugated Materials

2015 Joint winners
Dr Alexander Forse
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies of Ion Adsorption in Supercapacitor Electrodes
Dr Lisa Kleiminger
Solid Oxide Electrochemical Reactors and Processes for Carbon Dioxide and Water Splitting

2014
Dr Oluwafunmilola Ola
Effect of metal Doping and Supports on TiO2-based Catalysts for CO2 Photoreduction

2013
Dr Alissa Cotton
Engineering Scale-up and Environmental Effects of the Calcium Looping Cycle for Post-Combustion CO2 Capture