Heterocyclic and Synthesis Group Charles Rees Award

The Charles Rees Award is to reward excellence in the field of heterocyclic chemistry. The award covers the synthesis, properties, and applications of all types of heterocyclic compounds.

General information

• Run biennially. Nominations open 01 April 2024 and close on 31 May 2024
• The winner receives £2000, a medal and a certificate
• The winner will be chosen by the committee of the RSC Heterocyclic and Synthesis Group
• The winner will deliver a plenary lecture at the 26th Lakeland Symposium, Grasmere, UK, Sunday 11th May to Thursday 15th May 2025. All accommodation and travel costs for attendance will be covered
• As part of the prize, conference fees and accommodation for two PhD students from the recipient’s group to attend the conference and present their work will be awarded

Guidelines for nominators

• Nominees may NOT nominate themselves
• This award is open to nominees based in the UK or internationally
• There are no career stage restrictions associated with this award

To make a nomination, please use our online awards nominations system to submit the following:

•  Your name, contact details
• The candidate's name and contact details
•  An up-to-date CV for the nominee (no longer than one A4 side, 11pt text) which should include a summary of their education and career, a list of 5 relevant publications, total numbers of publications and patents (if appropriate) and website URL if relevant
• A supporting statement (up to 750 words) addressing the selection criteria
• A short citation describing what the nominee should be awarded for. This must be no longer than 250 characters (not including spaces) and ideally no longer than one sentence.
• References are not required for this award and will not be accepted  

Selection criteria

Our selection committee will base their evaluations primarily on the overall quality of relevant contributions made by nominees and not simply on quantitative measures.

The selection committee will consider the following aspects of nominations:

• Originality of research
• Impact of research
• Quality of publications and/or patents and/or software
• Innovation
• Collaborations and teamwork
• Other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominee/nominator

Charles Rees Award Committee

• Andrew Smith (Chair), University of St. Andrews
• Nessa Carson, AZ
• Lorna Duffy, Sygnature
• Stephen Fletcher, University of Oxford
• Marc Kimber, Loughborough University
• Zac Lockhart, MSD      
• Robert Stockman, University of Nottingham 

Previous winners

2020

Professor David Procter, University of Manchester

2018

Professor Andrew Smith, University of St Andrews

2016

Professor John Murphy, University of Strathclyde

2014

Professor Tim Donohoe, University of Oxford

2012

Professor Christopher Moody, University of Nottingham

2010

Professor Anthony Barrett, Imperial College London

About Charles Rees

The Charles Rees Award commemorates Charles Wayne Rees (1927-2006), a renowned synthetic chemist who devoted his career to heterocyclic chemistry. From 1992-94 he was President of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Born in Cairo, Rees was educated in at Farnham Grammar School in Aldershot, and then worked as a laboratory technician at RAE Farnborough, studying for his higher school certificate at night school. He gained entrance to University College Southampton, and there he succeeded in obtaining a first-class degree in chemistry.

His work included research into reactive intermediates, extended aromatic systems and sulfur-nitrogen heterocycles. Having first worked at Birkbeck University, Rees moved to King's College London in 1957, where he published a classic paper detailing a brilliantly conceived oxidation of a heterocyclic amine to generate a highly reactive species in 1965. Around this time, he also produced a seminal paper describing novel method to produce benzyne, in collaboration with C. D. Campbell.

From King's College London, Rees then took his first professorship at Leicester in 1965, before moving to Liverpool and finally to Imperial College London, where he remained from 1970 until his retirement. In his later career, Rees focused on aromatic ring systems, discovering tricyclic-[10]-annulenes and undertaking ground-breaking work on nitrogen- and sulfur-rich heterocycles.

Throughout his career Rees published over 500 papers, and won several awards, including being awarded a CBE in 1995. He was very involved with the Royal Society of Chemistry, both as President of the Perkin Division and Chair of the Publication and Information Board, before becoming President in 1992.  In the words of Christopher J. Moody, "Charles Rees had enormous charm. He was a great raconteur with a razor-sharp wit. Nobody who attended a scientific conference at which he delivered the after-dinner address will ever forget him."  (The Independent Newspaper, 12 December 2006)