Dalton Emerging Researcher Award

Guidelines for nominators

• Nominations open 3 November.
  
• Nominations close 18 January, 17:00 GMT.
• Reference deadline 25 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, be nominated or provide a reference:
  
  • Dalton Division Prize Committee members
  • Division Presidents
  • RSC Prize Committee members
  • Trustees of the Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Royal Society of Chemistry staff

• The prize is open to nominees working in the UK or Ireland, or whose PhD degree is from an institution in the UK or Ireland.
• Nominees should be within 2 years of completion of their PhD at the closing date for nominations. Consideration will also be given to those who have taken career breaks or followed different study paths.
• Assessment for this award will consider work completed during the nominee's PhD and not more than 5 years after the PhD's start day.
• When nominating previous RSC prize winners, please remember that a person cannot be awarded twice for substantially the same body of work.

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 RSC membership must be confirmed at the point of nomination – it is not sufficient to have a membership application in process. The identity of nominators is not made known to our judging panels.
• 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. Our guidance for nominators page has more information on writing this supporting statement.
• 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.
• The name and contact details of one referee. The referee might be the nominee's post-doc or PhD supervisor, line manager, project manager or mentor.
  • The reference should be a maximum of 750 words. Referees will be asked to state their relationship (if any) with the nominee and note any conflicts of interest.
  • All references must be submitted through the online system by the reference deadline, 25 January, 17:00 GMT. Nominations will not go forward to judging without a completed reference. Please ensure you submit your referee's details in plenty of time, to allow them sufficient opportunity to provide their reference.
  • As soon you submit your referee’s details, they will receive an automated e-mail with a link to submit their reference. Please contact awards@rsc.org as soon as possible if you experience any issues with this.
  • It is the nominator’s responsibility to ensure that the referee is aware of the nomination, that they should expect an e-mail invitation to submit their reference, and that they are aware of what is required to ensure that the reference is submitted before the deadline.
  • All referees will receive one e-mail reminder from RSC staff in the week before the reference deadline.
    

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. 

Selection Criteria and Judging Panel

Our selection committees base their evaluations on the overall quality of relevant contributions and achievements by nominees, in relation to the selection criteria listed below.

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
• Independence
• Collaborations and teamwork
• Other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominator/referee

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/mentoring
• Service on committees
• Leadership
• Promotion of diversity and inclusion
• Advocacy for chemistry
• Public engagement and outreach

Dalton Division Prize Committee

• Robert Mulvey, University of Strathclyde (Chair)
• Claudia Bonfio, ISIS Strasbourg
• Serena Cussen, University of Sheffield
• Stuart Macgregor, Heriot-Watt University
• David Mills, University of Manchester
• James Paterson, BP