Education Award 2009 winner

Awarded for his high profile presence in chemistry education and his sustained and wide-ranging contributions to research and development which have influenced the teaching and learning of chemistry both nationally and internationally.

About the winner

After gaining BSc and DPhil degrees at the University of Sussex, Stuart Bennett taught and carried out research at universities in New Zealand and the USA before joining the Open University. His earlier research in nitrogen fixation and organometallic chemistry has now given way to research in science education which parallels his work in innovative approaches to teaching.

In addition to visiting academic posts in universities in the USA, India and New Zealand, he has lectured in over eighty universities both in the UK and overseas. His research focus has been in problem solving, assessment and in practical work. In recognition, he gained the Royal Society of Chemistry Higher Education Teaching Award in 2000 and Galen Education Award in 2001.

He has chaired the editorial board of the journal University Chemistry Education and the Royal Society of Chemistry Tertiary Education Group and recently completed a three year term as President of the Education Division of the Society. He is now chair of the editorial board of the journal Chemistry Education Research and Practice.