Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship
Recognising early career researchers who have made outstanding contributions to materials chemistry.
Details
Status | Closed |
---|---|
Nominations closing date | 12 June 2025 |
Nominator eligibility | Anyone |
Nominee location | Global |
Career stage | Early career |
About this lectureship
This lectureship recognises early career researchers, typically within ten years of attaining their PhD or equivalent degree or within the first five years of their independent career, who have made significant contributions to the field of materials chemistry. This lectureship is presented annually. Nominations open in the spring, and the winner is announced in the autumn.
The recipient will:
- receive £1,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs to attend and present at a leading international meeting
- be offered free RSC membership for one year
- be invited to contribute an article to one of the Journal of Materials Chemistry journals
- receive a complimentary cover for the issue in which the article appears
Winners

Raphaële Clément, University of California
For making significant contributions to the field of materials chemistry in their early career.
Previous winners
- 2023: Jovana Milić, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
- 2022: Sahika Inal, KAUST, Saudi Arabia
- 2021: Maria Escudero Escribano, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2020: Giulia Grancini, University of Pavia, Italy
- 2019: Qiang Zhang, Tsinghua University, China
- 2018: Shaojun Guo, Peking University, China
- 2017: Serena Cussen (née Corr), University of Sheffield, UK
- 2016: Christopher Bettinger, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
- 2015: Chengtie Wu, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, CAS, China
- 2014: Henry Snaith, University of Oxford, UK
- 2013: Xinliang Feng, Technische Universitat Dresden, Germany
- 2012: Xiangfeng Duan, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
- 2011: Liberato Manna, Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy
- 2010: Dan Luo, Cornell University, USA
Guidelines for nominators and candidates
Find out who is eligible for this lectureship, about the nomination process and see who is on the selection panel.
Established in 2010, this international lectureship honours early-career scientists. The Journal of Materials Chemistry lectureship is open to researchers worldwide who have made significant contributions to the field of materials chemistry. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the Royal Society of Chemistry and researchers in academia or industry.
Nominators can be, for example, colleagues, collaborators, and mentors
- The reputation, seniority, or prominence of nominators is not considered by the judging panel
- Self-nomination is not permitted
- All documents must be submitted by the nominator
We believe we have a responsibility to promote inclusivity and accessibility to improve diversity. Where possible, we encourage each nominator to consider nominating candidates of all genders, races, and backgrounds.
To be eligible for the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship, the candidate must:
- not have been a previous recipient of this lectureship
- have completed their PhD
- be actively pursuing an independent research career within materials chemistry
- be at an early stage of their independent career (typically this will be within 10 years of completing their PhD OR within the first five years of their independent career, but appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break, for example for childcare leave, or followed a different study path).
- have made significant contributions to the field of materials chemistry
The process to nominate a candidate, when nominations next open, will normally be:
- a completed nomination form sent via email
- a brief CV of the candidate (one page maximum)
- a supporting letter of recommendation from the nominator (one page maximum)
- an additional supporting letter of recommendation from a referee who can comment in detail on specific contributions, achievements or potential of a nominee – this could be, for example, the nominee’s post-doc or PhD supervisor, or academic mentor.
- three recent publications representative of the nominee’s research output
Citation of community service
We define community service as any voluntary work that the candidate has taken part in that has benefitted at least one other member of the materials chemistry community.
The nominator may consider including the following information in the citation of community service:
- Details of how the nominee has made a personal impact and stands out through volunteering for the materials chemistry community
- Details of how the nominee personally contributed to the implementation and outcomes of the community service activity
- Details of how the nominee engaged others in their community service activities
- Details of the impact on the community of their activities
- Details of how the nominee promoted a positive work-life balance
- Examples of service to the materials chemistry community might include, but are not limited to, education, public outreach, research advocacy, leadership and mentoring
Equal consideration is given to research achievements and service to the materials chemistry community. Consideration is given to all information provided in the nomination, in particular the community service citation, candidate C.V. and three research papers. In addition to the core criteria listed above, publishing engagement in the journal family is encouraged.
Nominations are first longlisted by a panel of Advisory board members and then further shortlisted by Editorial Board members of the three JMCs. The winner is selected from the final shortlist by the Journal of Materials Chemistry Editors-in-Chief and the Executive Editor.
If Editorial and Advisory Board members nominate or support a candidate, they cannot vote on or discuss this candidate during the assessment process. The Editors-in-Chief and Executive Editor do not make any nominations.
Selection panel:
- Anders Hagfeldt (Panel co-Chair), Uppsala University
- Jessica Winter (Panel co-Chair), Ohio State University
- Michaela Mühlberg, Royal Society of Chemistry
Nominated Editorial or Advisory Board members are not involved in any stages of the selection process.