2024 Organic Chemistry open Prize: Pedler Prize Winner
Professor Harry Anderson, University of Oxford
Awarded for work on the synthesis and investigation of pi-conjugated macrocycles and new carbon allotropes.
In organic chemistry, we can design molecules that may never have existed before and test whether they have the properties we expect. Professor Anderson’s research focuses on creating molecular compounds with unprecedented properties. This means learning how to synthesise them and how to change their molecular architectures to achieve a desired property.
Professor Anderson is particularly interested in large organic molecules that allow the flow of electrons over distances of several nanometres. His group has developed methods for creating molecular wire rings and is investigating whether these molecules behave like tiny rings of metal wire. They also work on the synthesis of new carbon allotropes, i.e. molecules such as C13, C16 and C18 that are made entirely from carbon. These small carbon molecules are too reactive to study under ambient conditions, so the group is developing strategies for making them more stable.
| Year | Name | Institution | Citation |
| 2023 | Professor Antonio Echavarren FRSC | Institut Català d'Investigació Química | Awarded for pioneering contributions to the field of organic chemistry employing gold catalysis. |
| 2022 | Professor Dame Margaret Brimble CChem FRSC | The University of Auckland | Awarded for a large body of pioneering work spanning the fields of natural product synthesis, peptide chemistry, and medicinal chemistry. |
| 2021 | Professor Paolo Melchiorre | Institut Català d'Investigació Química | Awarded for the development of asymmetric photocatalytic methodologies based on excited state intermediates. |
| 2020 | Professor Wilfred van der Donk | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute | Awarded for the combined application of organic chemistry, molecular biology, and biochemistry to study posttranslationally modified peptides and phosphonate natural products. |
| 2019 |
Professor Armido Studer | University of Münster | Awarded for outstanding contributions towards the development of novel radical-based methodologies. |
| 2018 | Professor Guy Lloyd-Jones | The University of Edinburgh | Awarded for the mechanism-informed design of significant practical improvements to the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction. |
| 2017 | Professor Jin-Quan Yu | The Scripps Research Institute | Awarded for development of pioneering methods of C-H activation. |
| 2016 | Professor Dr Helma Wennemers | ETH Zurich | Awarded for the profound and elegant discovery of small molecules that function like natural macromolecules. |
| 2015 | Professor Michael Krische | University of Texas at Austin | Awarded for pioneering novel powerful C-C coupling methodologies via transfer hydrogenation and their applications to elegant and highly efficient natural compound syntheses. |
| 2014 | Professor David Leigh | The University of Manchester | For his pioneering work on the biologically inspired design and synthesis of artificial molecular machines. |
| 2013 |
Professor Kevin Burgess | Texas A & M University | For his important contributions in both synthetic and biological chemistry such as the development of asymmetric hydrogenation and peptidomimetics respectively. |
| 2012 |
Professor Scott Rychnovsky | University of California, Irvine | Awarded for the introduction of innovative methods for stereoselective syntheses of polyols, tetrahydropyrans, macrolide antibiotics and terpenes. |
| 2011 |
Mark Lautens | University of Toronto | Awarded for his discovery of useful new methodology for the construction of carbocycles and heterocyles and application of this in the synthesis of natural products and biologically active compounds. His research uses metal catalysts to selectively form C-C, C-X and C-N bonds in a chemo, stereo- and enantioselective fashion. |
| 2010 |
Jonathan Ellman | Yale University | Awarded for his pioneering achievements in organic synthesis including catalytic asymmetric synthesis, solid phase methodology and selective C-H bond activation. |
| 2009 |
Andrew Evans | University of Liverpool | Awarded for his design of multi-component processes and their application to the stereoselective synthesis of complex natural products. |
| 2008/2009 | Christopher Moody | University of Nottingham |
Awarded for his fundamental contributions to the synthesis of heterocyclic, biologically important compounds. |
| 2006/2007 | Professor Richard J K Taylor | University of York |
Distinguished for his excellent contributions to natural product synthesis, in particular of polyene systems, and to synthetic methodology, in particular the Ramberg-Bäcklund and tandem oxidation processes. |
| 2004/2005 | Professor Anthony G M Barrett | Imperial College London |
Distinguished for his outstanding and widespread contributions to synthetic chemistry, particularly the efficient preparation of highly complex natural products, the design of novel methodology for parallel synthesis and combinatorial chemistry, as well as the construction of multimetallic porphyrazine arrays. |
| 2002/2003 | Professor Scott E Denmark | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
Distinguished for his contributions to the development of novel tandem cycloadditions involving nitroalkenes and their application to highly elegant, short synthesis of pyrrolizidine and indolizidine alkaloids. |
| 2000/2001 | Professor Philip J Kocienski | University of Glasgow |
Distinguished for his numerous contributions to the total synthesis of biologically active natural products and the development of important new synthetic methods. |
| 1998/1999 | Professor Ron E Grigg | University of Leeds |
Distinguished for his highly original and wide-ranging contributions to organic synthesis. |
| 1996/1997 | J K M Sanders |
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| 1994/1995 | G Pattenden |
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| 1992/1993 | S V Ley |
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| 1990/1991 | J E Baldwin |
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| 1988/1989 | W D Ollis |
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| 1986/1987 | J I G Cadogan |
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| 1984/1985 | C W Rees |
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| 1982/1983 | L Crombie |
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| 1980/1981 | A R Battersby |
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| 1978/1979 | Sir James Baddiley |
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| 1976/1977 | G W Kenner |
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| 1974/1975 | A W Johnson |
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| 1972/1973 | R A Raphael |
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| 1970/1971 | D H Hey |
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| 1968/1969 | J W Cornforth |
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| 1966/1967 | D H R Barton |
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| 1964/1965 | W Baker |
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| 1962/1963 | F Sanger |
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| 1960/1961 | R D Haworth |
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| 1958/1959 | E R H Jones |
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| 1956/1957 | C K Ingold |
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| 1955 | E L Hirst |
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| 1953 | P Linstead |
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| 1950 | J W Cook |
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| 1947 | Sir Ian Heilbron |
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| 1946 | A R Todd |
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| 1944 | C Harrington |
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| 1942 | W H Mills |
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| 1940 | W N Haworth |
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| 1938 | R Kuhn |
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| 1936 | R Robinson |
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| 1934 | H Fischer |
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| 1932 | L Ruzicka |
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| 1931 | H Wieland |
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| 1929 | W H Perkin |
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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.