This Lectureship recognises early career researchers, typically within 10 years of attaining their PhD or equivalent degree OR within the first five years of their independent career, who have made significant contributions to the field of materials chemistry.
This award is presented annually. Nominations open in the spring, and the winner is announced in the autumn.
The Lectureship recipient receives £1,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs to attend and present at a leading international meeting. They will also be offered free RSC membership for one year. The recipient is invited to contribute an article to one of the Journal of Materials Chemistry journals and to receive a complimentary cover for the issue in which the article appears.
Our latest award winners 2022
Lectureship winner
Professor Sahika Inal
Sahika is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), where her group exploits the functionalities of organic electronic materials, investigates ionic/electronic charge transport, and designs electronic devices that record/stimulate biological signals.
Discover Sahika’s research:
→ Find out more about Sahika and see all of her RSC Journal articles
Lectureship runners-up
Each year we have a large number of excellent researchers nominated for the lectureship award across the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C. To recognise the diversity of the three journals, the overall community, and the candidates nominated each year, we have decided to additionally recognise two runners-up for this Lectureship:
Professor Luisa Whittaker-Brooks, University of Utah, USA
Dr Jessica Wade,
Imperial College, UK
→ Discover the research of the runners-up in this themed collection
See all previous winners
Guidelines for nominators and candidates
Find out who is eligible for this award, about the nomination process, and see who is on the selection panel.
Established in 2010, this international lectureship honours early-career scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of materials chemistry.
Open to all researchers throughout the world
The Journal of Materials Chemistry lectureship is open to all researchers throughout the world. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the Royal Society of Chemistry and researchers in academia or industry.
All career levels welcome
Nominators do not need to be senior researchers, and we encourage nominations from people at all career levels.
Self-nomination is not permitted
The nominee can handle the administration of submitting their nomination, however, all nominations require a separate supporting letter to be considered for the Lectureship.
As part of the Royal Society of Chemistry, we believe we have a responsibility to promote inclusivity and accessibility in order to improve diversity. Where possible, we encourage each nominator to consider nominating candidates of all genders, races, and backgrounds.
Please note: previous recipients of this lectureship will not be eligible for the current lectureship.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship, the candidate must:
- Have completed their PhD
- Be actively pursuing an independent research career within materials chemistry
- Be at an early stage of their independent career (typically this will be within 10 years of completing their PhD OR within the first five years of their independent career, but appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break, for example for childcare leave, or followed a different study path). The Editorial Office will respond rapidly to any eligibility queries
- Have made significant contributions to the field of materials chemistry
Nominations for 2023 will open at the end of April
To nominate a candidate, please provide:
- a completed Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship nomination form via email
- a brief C.V. of the candidate (up to a page in length)
- a letter supporting the nomination (also no longer than one page)
After nominations close, the Editorial Office will reach out to eligible candidates to request three papers representative of their research output.
Citation of community service
We define community service as any voluntary work that the candidate has taken part in that has benefitted at least one other member of the materials chemistry community.
The nominator may consider including the following information in the citation of community service:
- Details of how the nominee has made a personal impact and stands out through volunteering for the materials chemistry community
- Details of how the nominee personally contributed to the implementation and outcomes of the community service activity
- Details of how the nominee engaged others in their community service activities
- Details of the impact on the community of their activities
- Details of how the nominee promoted a positive work-life balance
- Examples of service to the materials chemistry community might include, but is not limited to, education, public outreach, research advocacy, leadership and mentoring
Equal consideration is given to research achievements and service to the materials chemistry community. Consideration is given to all information provided in the nomination, in particular the community service citation, candidate C.V. and three research papers. In addition to the core criteria listed above, publishing engagement in the journal family is encouraged.
Nominations are first shortlisted by a panel of Advisory board members and then further assessed by Editorial Board members. The winner is selected by the Journal of Materials Chemistry Editors-in-Chief and the Executive Editor.
Selection panel
- Anders Hagfeldt (Panel co-Chair), Uppsala University
- Jeroen Cornelissen (Panel co-Chair), University of Twente
- Natalie Stingelin (Panel co-Chair), Georgia Institute of Technology
- Michaela Mühlberg, Royal Society of Chemistry
- Journal of Materials Chemistry A Editorial Board
- Journal of Materials Chemistry B Editorial Board
- Journal of Materials Chemistry C Editorial Board
- Over 30 Advisory Board members of the above journals are responsible for shortlisting
Nominated Editorial or Advisory Board members are not involved in any stages of the selection process.
Previous winners:
2022: Sahika Inal, KAUST, Saudi Arabia
2021: Maria Escudero Escribano, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
2020: Giulia Grancini, University of Pavia, Italy
2019: Qiang Zhang, Tsinghua University, China
2018: Shaojun Guo, Peking University, China
2017: Serena Cussen (née Corr), University of Sheffield, UK
2016: Christopher Bettinger, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
2015: Chengtie Wu, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, CAS, China
2014: Henry Snaith, University of Oxford, UK
2013: Xinliang Feng, Technische Universitat Dresden, Germany
2012: Xiangfeng Duan, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
2011: Liberato Manna, Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy
Visit related journal pages:
→ Journal of Materials Chemistry A
→ Journal of Materials Chemistry B
→ Journal of Materials Chemistry C
Contact Journal of Materials Chemistry Editorial Office
- Email:
- the team