This Lectureship recognises early career researchers, within 10 years of their PhD, who have made a significant contribution in the area of atomic spectrometry, in their independent academic career:
- It is presented annually
- The nominations are shortlisted and the JAAS Editorial Board selects the winner
- The recipient of this award receives the opportunity to present a lecture at a leading international meeting and a contribution of up to £2,000 to cover associated travel and accommodation costs. They will also be offered free RSC membership for one year
Our latest winner 2024
Dr Thibaut Van Acker
Thibaut Van Acker is a postdoctoral research fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) in the Atomic & Mass Spectrometry – A&MS research unit of Ghent University, led by Prof. Frank Vanhaecke, and a visiting postdoctoral researcher at The Günther Group - Trace Element and Micro Analysis group (ETH Zürich).
His research is focused on both fundamental aspects of laser ablation – ICP-mass spectrometry and analytical method development to explore the capabilities of the technique for high spatial resolution elemental mapping applications in challenging interdisciplinary contexts.
Based on a number of hardware improvements, Thibaut has brought elemental mapping – i.e. the revelation of the 2- and even 3-dimensional distribution of elements across a sample – to another level. This can currently be accomplished at a pixel acquisition rate up to 1,000 Hz and a laser spot size down to 1 μm.
So far, Thibaut is (co-)author of 32 publications in peer-reviewed international journals (h-index: 16 and 987 citations based on Google Scholar) and his work has been presented in > 70 lectures and posters on international conferences.
Thibaut was awarded the 2023 European Rising Star Award for Plasma Spectrochemistry at the European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry in Ljubljana, Slovenia and recently, organized the 16th edition of the European Workshop on Laser Ablation (EWLA) in Ghent, Belgium with over 190 participants from 26 different countries worldwide.
Read some of Dr Van Acker's JAAS articles:
See all previous winners
Guidelines for nominators and candidates
Find out who is eligible for this lectureship, about the nomination process and see who is on the selection panel.
Nomination deadline
Spring 2025
Lectureship announcement
Summer 2025
Since 2015, the JAAS Lectureship has been awarded through a process whereby nominations of candidates are invited from our community. As part of the Royal Society of Chemistry, we believe we have a responsibility to promote inclusivity and accessibility to improve diversity. Where possible, we encourage each nominator to consider nominating candidates of all genders, races, and backgrounds.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the JAAS Lectureship, the candidate must:
- Have completed their PhD
- Have published in JAAS
- Be working in a research area within the scope of JAAS
- Be at an early stage of their independent career (typically this will be within 10 years of completing their PhD, but appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break or followed a different study path). Please contact the Editorial Office if you have any queries
Nominations can be made by anyone and must be sent via email. Self-nominations are not permitted. All nominators will be asked to confirm that, to the best of their knowledge, their nominee’s professional standing is such that there is no confirmed or potential impediment to them receiving the Lectureship.
To nominate a candidate, please provide:
- A recommendation letter, including the name, contact details and website URL of the nominee
- A one-page CV for the nominee, including their date of birth, summary of education and career, a list of up to five of their top independent publications, total numbers of publications
- A one-page statement of achievement with a lay summary, written by the nominee describing their best accomplishments
- A supporting letter of recommendation from an independent referee. This could be for example the nominee’s post doc or PhD supervisor.
Consideration is given to all information provided in the letters of recommendation, candidate CV and nomination form. The winner of the Lectureship is selected by a panel of Editorial Board members.
Selection panel
Previous winners
2023: Benjamin T. Manard, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
2022: Alexander Gundlach-Graham, Iowa State University
2021: Jacob T. Shelley, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
2020: George Donati, Wake Forest University
2019: Marta Costas-Rodriguez, University of Ghent
2018: Márcia Mesko, Federal University of Pelotas
2016: Sohail Mushtaq, London Metropolitan University
2015: Gerardo Gamez, Texas Tech University and Lara Lobo Revilla, University of Oviedo
See all our lectureships
Contact JAAS Editorial Office
- Email:
- the team