The PCCP Emerging Investigator Lectureship was established to recognise early career scientists in physical chemistry, chemical physics, and biophysical chemistry, and to act as a platform for early career physical chemists to showcase their research to the wider scientific community.
Award details:
- It's run annually
- Nominees will be shortlisted and winners selected by the PCCP Editorial Board
- The winner receives a £1000 contribution towards travel and accommodation costs to attend and present a lecture based on their research at a leading international meeting
- Shortlisted nominees will be invited to contribute to an Emerging Investigators themed collection. Read our 2021 collection.
Our latest award winner 2022
Basile F. E. Curchod
Basile was born in Vevey, Switzerland, and has been profoundly intrigued by the interaction between light and molecules since his studies at EPFL in Switzerland.
During his PhD, he worked on developing theoretical tools to better understand photochemical reactions, that is, chemical reactions triggered by light. He carried on his research on this topic during two postdoctoral stays, one at Stanford University (USA) and the other at the Max Planck Institute in Halle (Germany).
He then moved to Bristol (UK) as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow to work alongside experimentalists, applying his theoretical methods to understand the mechanistic details of some photochemical processes.
In November 2017, Basile created the In Silico Photochemistry Group at Durham University (UK). In September 2018, he was awarded an ERC Starting Grant. He was promoted to Associate Professor in August 2021.
In March 2022, he moved to the Centre for Computational Chemistry at the University of Bristol as an Associate Professor in Theoretical Chemistry. Basile is the 2022 recipient of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Marlow Award.
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.
Nomination deadline
30 September 2022
Lectureship winner announcement
Early 2023
The PCCP 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.
We encourage nominations from people at all career levels.
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 see our approach to Inclusion and Diversity.
Please note, that current PCCP Editorial Board members and previous recipients of this lectureship will not be eligible for the current lectureship.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the PCCP Lectureship, the candidate must:
- Have completed their PhD
- Be actively pursuing an independent research career within physical chemistry, chemical physics or biophysical chemistry
- 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 note, that the last day for nominations is 30 September 2022.
- Nominations must be made via email. Please fill in and attach the PCCP Emerging Investigator nomination form and a letter of recommendation and provide us with your details
- Nominators may only nominate one candidate for consideration per year
- Individuals cannot nominate themselves for consideration
- The Lectureship winner will be selected based on their nomination, with due consideration given to the letter of recommendation, candidate biography, research achievements, previous PCCP publications, and overall publication history
- Selected shortlisted nominees, as chosen by the PCCP Editorial Board, will be invited to submit to the 2023 PCCP Emerging Investigator Themed Collection following the Lectureship winner selection
The judging panel will consider the following core criteria:
- excellence in research, as evidenced in reference to originality and impact
quality of publications, patents, or software - innovation
- professional standing
- independence
- collaborations and teamwork
- evidence of promising potential
- other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominator
Selection panel
All eligible nominated candidates will be assessed by a judging panel made up of the PCCP Editorial Board. Any Editorial Board members with a conflict of interest will be ineligible for the judging panel.
Previous winners
2022 – Basile Curchod, University of Bristol, UK
2021 – Stella Stopkowicz, University of Mainz, Germany and Stefania Impellizzeri, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada
2019 – Federico Calle-Vallejo, University of Barcelona, Spain
2018 – Debashree Ghosh, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, India
2017 – Ryan Steele, University of Utah, USA
Contact PCCP Editorial Office
- Email:
- the team