IUPAC offers a number of awards to honor scientific contributions and expertise. These include:
IUPAC-SOLVAY International Award for Young Chemists
Established in 2000 to encourage outstanding young research scientists at the beginning of their careers. The awards are given for the most outstanding Ph.D. theses in the general area of the chemical sciences, as described in a 1000-word essay.
> 2024 Call for Nominations
> 2023 Awardees
> 2022 Awardees
> 2021 Awardees
> 2020 Awardees
IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering
Established to acknowledge and promote the work of women chemists/chemical engineers worldwide. Awardees are selected based on excellence in basic or applied research, distinguished accomplishments in teaching or education, or demonstrated leadership or managerial excellence in the chemical sciences. The Awards Committee is particularly interested in nominees with a history of leadership and/or community service during their careers.
> 2023 Awardees
> 2021 Awardees
> 2019 Awardees
> 2017 Awardees
CHEMRAWN VII Prize for Green Chemistry
Established to honor a young investigator (less than 45 years of age) from a developing country who is actively contributing to research in atmospheric and green chemistry.
> 2022 Vivek Polshettiwar
> 2020 Huizhen Liu and Banothile Makhubela
> 2018 Mirabbos Hojamberdiev
IUPAC-Richter Prize in Medicinal Chemistry
Established to acknowledge the key role that medicinal chemistry plays toward improving human health by awarding an internationally recognized scientist, preferably a medicinal chemist, whose activities or published accounts have made an outstanding contribution to the practice of medicinal chemistry or to an outstanding example of new drug discovery.
> 2024 Call for Nominations
> 2022 Michael E. Jung
> 2020 John Macor
> 2018 Peter D.J. Grootenhuis
Chemistry Education Awards
The IUPAC Committee on Chemistry Education (CCE) has established three awards which recognise outstanding work being done in any part of the world to promote excellence in the teaching and learning of chemistry. These are the Distinguished Contribution to Chemistry Education Award, the Outstanding Early Career Researcher in Chemistry Education Award, and a Special Recognition Award for Excellent Service to the Committee on Chemistry Education.
> 2024 Call for Nominations
IUPAC-ThalesNano Prize in Flow Chemistry
Established to honor an internationally recognized scientist, whose activities or published accounts have made an outstanding contribution in the field of flow chemistry in academia or industry.
> 2020 Thimothy Noël
> 2018 C. Oliver Kappe
> 2016 Volker Hessel
IUPAC International Award for Advances in Harmonized Approaches to Crop Protection Chemistry
Established to recognize individuals in government, intergovernmental organizations, industry, and academia who have exercised personal leadership for outstanding contributions to international harmonization for the regulation of crop protection chemistry.
> 2023 Keith Solomon
> 2019 Mark Lynch
> 2016 Dan Kunkel
Thieme-IUPAC Prize
Established to honor a scientist under 40 years of age whose research has had a major impact in synthetic organic chemistry. The prize is given on the basis of scientific merit for independent research dealing with synthesis in the broadest context of organic chemistry, including organometallic chemistry, medicinal and biological chemistry, designed molecules, and materials.
> 2024 Call for nominations
> 2020 Ang Li
> 2018 Seth Herzon
Polymer International – IUPAC Award
Established to recognize creativity in applied polymer science or polymer technology. This award celebrates the achievements of young researchers in the polymer community.
> 2022 Zachary Hudson
> 2020 Guihua Yu
> 2018 Cyrille Boyer
Hanwha-Total IUPAC Young Scientist Award (formerly Samsung-IUPAC Young Scientist Award)
Established to honor a early career polymer chemist. The winner of the Hanwha-Total IUPAC Young Scientist Award is chosen every other year right before the World Polymer Congress from a pool of recommended candidates who are early in their career, typically within 15 years of attaining their doctorate or equivalent degree. Appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break, worked in systems where their time period to independence may vary, or who followed an alternative study path. The award is managed by the IUPAC Polymer Division and made possible by an endowment from Samsung Total Petrochemical Co. Ltd. of South Korea.
> 2022 Qian Chen and Eric Appel
> 2020 Athina Anastasaki and Changle Chen
> 2018 Andreas Walther
> 2016 Moon Jeong Park and Brent Sumerlin
Stepto Lecture Award
> 2022 Graeme Moad
> 2020 Tony Ryan
> 2018 Chris Ober
> 2016 Michael Buback
Analytical Chemistry Awards
The Analytical Chemistry Division of IUPAC has established two awards, including (i) the Emerging Innovator Award in Analytical Chemistry – an award to recognize outstanding work undertaken by an emerging analytical scientist that corresponds to the aims of the Analytical Chemistry Division; and (ii) the IUPAC Analytical Chemistry Medal – an award to recognize significant lifetime contribution to the aims of the Analytical Chemistry Division.
> 2023 Janusz Pawliszyn, University of Waterloo, received the IUPAC Analytical Chemistry Medal, and
Xin Yan, Texas A&M University received the Emerging Innovator Award in Analytical Chemistry; see announcement
> 2021 Joseph Wang and Tsuyoshi Minami
Franzosini Award
Established to recognize a promising young contributor to the Solubility Data Project (SDP) to help them attend, in even years, the International Symposium on Solubility Phenomena (ISSP) and, in odd years, the annual meetings of the Subcommittee on Solubility and Equilibrium Data.
> Yongheum Jo (2022 Call for nominations)
> history
IUPAC-Zhejiang NHU International Award for Advancements in Green Chemistry
Established to encourage young and experienced chemists, and to emphasize the importance of advancements in Green Chemistry and the value of sciences to human progress. The award covers all the topics of Green Chemistry, such as Green and Renewable Feedstocks, Green Synthetic Routes, Green Solvents, Green Catalysis, Green products, Green Energy, and as broadly defined by OECD as Sustainable Chemistry.
> 2023 Awardees
> 2021 Awardees
> 2019 Awardees
PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC research grants in green chemistry
Established to give young scientists involved in research in green chemistry and allied areas in biochemistry, geochemistry, biotechnology, ecology and healthcare ample opportunity to demonstrate their inventiveness and provide important input to sustainable development.
> 2023 Call for Application – deadline 30 June 2023
> 2020 Call for Applications – Award grants ceremony (Nov 2023)
> 2019 Awardees
IUPAC Poster Prize
Established to recognize outstanding undergraduate poster presentations at IUPAC Congresses and division-sponsored conferences.