The Bader Award recognises eminence in organic chemistry, which has not previously been rewarded by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
- Run annually
- The winner receives £3000, a medal and a certificate
- The winner will complete a UK lecture tour
- The winner will be chosen by the Organic Division Awards Committee
2020 Winner
2020 Bader Award Winner
Professor Edward Anderson, University of Oxford
For creative contributions to organic synthesis and synthetic methodology.
Guidelines for nominators
- Nominations open 12 November
- Nominations close 18 January, 17:00 GMT
- Only RSC Members can nominate for this prize
- Nominees may NOT nominate themselves.
- Nominees can only be considered for one of our Research & Innovation Prizes in any given year. In a case where a nominee is nominated for more than one prize independently, RSC staff will ask the nominee which prize they would like to be considered for.
- Individuals named in any of the following roles during the nomination and judging period are not eligible to nominate or be nominated:
- Organic Division Award Committee members
- Division Presidents
- Awards Working Group members
- Trustees of the Royal Society of Chemistry
- This award is open to nominees based in the UK or Ireland only.
- There are no career stage restrictions associated with this award.
- Nominees must not have previously received an RSC prize or award.
To make a nomination, please use our online nominations system to submit the following information:
- Your name, contact details, and membership number (please contact the RSC Membership team if you do not know your membership details)
- Your nominee'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, and a maximum of 5 relevant publications or patents
- A short citation describing what the nominee should be awarded for. This must be no longer than 250 characters (including spaces) and no longer than one sentence
- A supporting statement (up to 750 words) addressing the selection criteria
- A statement (up to 100 words) describing how your nominee has contributed more broadly to the scientific community. A list of possible examples is outlined in the ‘selection criteria’ tab.
- References are not required for this award and will not be accepted.
The RSC reserves the right to rescind any prize if there are reasonable grounds to do so. 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 this prize. All winners will be asked to sign the RSC's Code of Conduct Declaration for Recognition.
Make a nominationSelection Criteria and Judging Panel
Our selection committees base their evaluations primarily on the overall quality of relevant contributions made by nominees and not on quantitative measures. The scientific content of any supporting publications, as described in the supporting statement, is much more important than publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which it is published.
The selection committee will consider the following aspects of nominations for this prize:
- Originality of research
- Impact of research
- Quality of publications and/or patents and/or software
- Innovation
- Professional standing
- Collaborations and teamwork
- Other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominator
In an instance where multiple nominees are judged equally meritorious in relation to the above criteria, judging panels have the flexibility to use information provided by the nominator on the nominee’s broader contribution to the chemistry community as an additional criterion.
Examples of relevant contributions could include, but are not limited to:
- Involvement with Royal Society of Chemistry member groups/networks
- Teaching/demonstrating
- Effective mentorship
- Service on boards, committees or panels
- Leadership in the scientific community
- Peer-reviewer
- Promotion of diversity and inclusion
- Advocacy for chemistry
- Public engagement and outreach
Organic Division Awards Committee
- Stuart Conway, University of Oxford (Chair)
- Sarah Skerratt, MSD
- Martin Swarbrick, CRUK Therapeutic Discovery Laboratories
- Alethea Tabor, University College London
- Mariola Tortosa, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid
- Vipul Patel, GSK
History of the prize
A generous gift from Dr Alfred Bader resulted in the establishment of the Bader Award in 1989.
Dr Bader founded the Aldrich Chemical Company, in Wisconsin, with Jack Eisendrath in 1951. As Aldrich rapidly expanded internationally in the 1950s and '60s, Bader merged with Sigma International, to form Sigma-Aldrich in 1975. During his time as Chairman of the company, from its inception in 1951 until 1991, Bader amassed an impressive library of rare chemicals, and the Sigma catalogue became the standard reference text for many chemists looking for physical and structural data.
Born into a Jewish family in Vienna in 1924, Bader was evacuated to Britain in the Kindertransport in 1938. Following this period he spent time at an internment camp in Canada before completing his education at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Later, Bader studied for his PhD under Louis Fieser at Harvard.
Throughout his life, he harboured a great interest in art, and had a large collection of 'Old Master' paintings. After retiring from Sigma-Aldrich he devoted his life to philanthropy, as well as his art collection, and published his memoirs - "Adventures of a Chemist Collector" and "Chemistry and Art". He was awarded eleven honorary degrees for his service to chemical research and philanthropy. Bader died in 2018, aged 94.
Re-thinking recognition: Science prizes for the modern world
This report is the result of an independent review of our recognition programmes. Our aim in commissioning this review was to ensure that our recognition portfolio continues to deliver the maximum impact for chemical scientists, chemistry and society.
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