Physical Chemistry Divisional Awards

Physical Chemistry Division Medal

The Medal will be awarded by the Physical Chemistry Division in recognition of outstanding contributions by an individual within the field of Physical Chemistry in Australia. Contributions to any or all of research, education, industry, and service to the Division will be considered in making the award. Nominations may be made by the person seeking the award, or by any member (or members jointly) of the RACI. Nominations made by a third party must be accompanied by a signed acceptance of nomination by the candidate.

Conditions of the medal

1. There is no age limit, and applications will be assessed relative to opportunity. 
2. Nominees must be financial corporate members of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Inc.
3. Nominees must hold an academic, government, or industrial position in Australia or New Zealand equivalent to at least academic Level D. Only in exceptional circumstances will individuals falling outside these bounds be considered.
4. Nominees cannot be previous awardees of a RACI Physical Chemistry Division Medal.
5. The award shall consist of a Medal and registration at the next Division Meeting where the recipient will be expected to deliver a Keynote Lecture.
6. The selection committee for the award shall consist of the Division Chair (as Convenor), Secretary, Treasurer, two previous Chairs, and an ECR observer. The composition of the selection committee is subject to modifications to ensure equity and diversity, and address any potential or perceived conflict of interest.

Nominees are required to supply:

• a brief statement up to 4 pages describing your sustained contribution to research, education, industry, and/or service to the Division
• a brief statement up to 1 page describing your career opportunities since PhD including any career interruptions and reduced opportunities.
• curriculum vitae of up to 4 pages
• a full list of publications (preferably a link to an online repository such as ORCIDID, Google Scholar).

Nomination letters of less than 1 A4 page are required from two Corporate Members of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (not including the nominee). Nominators should focus on the nominee’s sustained contribution to the physical chemistry community in research, education, industry, and/or service to the Division in providing support of the nomination.

Nominations, including all supporting documentation, will be accepted up to a limit of 20 pages.

Award selection criteria

The RACI Physical Chemistry Division Medal is awarded to a senior chemist. The Medal is awarded from consideration of the collective contribution to any or all of research, education, industry, and service to the Division. Contribution to the Division and/or community is an essential selection criteria. Award criteria that must be addressed include contributions to:

• the Division and/or the community
• at least one of research, education, and industry

The areas of contribution are not mutually exclusive, and applicants are encouraged to write an individual narrative that highlights their contribution to physical chemistry across all areas that are relevant to their experience.

Applicants for the medal will be assessed for:

(a) the nature of their contributions, 

(b) the impact of their contributions, and

(c) how these contributions have been sustained over time.

The following list provides some examples by which applicants could demonstrate contributions and their impact. The list is not exhaustive and applicants are encouraged to include examples that highlight their individual contribution. 

• Leadership: organisational leadership, thought leadership (e.g. improving policies),leading new programs or initiatives, cross-institutional research/education/industry agendas. 
• Mentoring and community impact: support & promoting junior staff, students, and early-career-academics, enhancing peer opportunities. 
• Vision and innovation/creativity: imaginative, novel, and useful ideas addressing important problems or gaps in research, education, industry, and/or service.
• Impact: what are the results of their actions on any relevant community or organisation.
• Promotion and advocacy: representation of an organisation or the community, promotion of chemistry, advocacy for an organisation or community.

Nominations are to be submitted online (link on this page).

Members will be advised when nominations are open for submission.

Following the deadline, no additional applications or nominations for the award will be considered.

If the selection committee determines that no candidate demonstrates adequate merit, they reserve the right to abstain from granting the award.

Link here

Physical Chemistry Division Lectureship

The Physical Chemistry Division of the RACI has established a funded Lectureship to allow outstanding early- and mid-career physical chemists to travel around Australia and present the results of their research work. Lectures may be delivered virtually and/or in person. We encourage in-person visits, as increased networking is a significant benefit of the lectureship. 

The conditions of the lectureship are:

1. There is no age limit, and applications will be assessed relative to research opportunity.
2. Nominees must be within eleven years (extended deadline due to COVID to be retained for two years) of the award of their Ph.D. (or equivalent) and hold an academic, government or industrial position equivalent to at least academic Level B.
3. Nominees must be financial members of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Inc.
4. Nominees should not have been previously invited to present a plenary lecture at an RACI Physical Chemistry Divisional meeting.
5. Only in exceptional circumstances will individuals falling outside these bounds be considered.
6. Nomination support letters of less than 1 A4 page are required from two Corporate Members of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. Nominators should focus on the nominee’s research excellence, independence, impact and vision but may also wish to include brief discussion of the nominee’s contribution to the Australian physical chemistry community, mentoring, leadership, collegiality and student training as part of the nominee’s broader research excellence. 
7. Nominees are required to supply:
   - Statement of up to 3 pages addressing the selection criteria
   - Curriculum vitae of up to 3 pages discussing your research excellence since PhD
   - A full list of publications.
   - A brief statement of your research opportunities since PhD including any career interruptions and reduced opportunities for research
   - 2 nomination support letters
   - Title and abstract of the lecture that would be given if the application is successful
   - Brief proposal of some institutions you plan to present at if awarded the lectureship

Requirement of the lectureship:

• The Lecturer will be expected to present a lecture in at least six state capitals and/or major regional centres during the year of the Lectureship. Some lectures may be given virtually. It is expected that the successful applicant will present (either physically or virtually) outside of their own state or territory in meeting this criterion. The RACI will pay reasonable travel expenses up to a maximum of $3,000 that is paid as reimbursement of costs incurred. Where possible, host institutions are expected to meet local accommodation and subsistence costs.
• The final lecture program will be developed in consultation with the selection committee, with final approval by the Chair of the Physical Chemistry Division.
• A brief written report of the lecture series should be provided to the Division Chair within 3 months of the final lecture being delivered. 

Management of conflicts of interest:

• The Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Division as position holders will be ineligible to apply for lectureship awards during their time on the Division Committee. Other committee members are eligible to apply, but they must declare so before the commencement of the award process. They will be excluded from all discussions involving the award, including setting criteria, receiving or viewing applications, and assessment of applications.
• The selection committee shall normally include the Division Chair (as Convenor), Secretary, Treasurer, and previous Chair, subject to any conflicts of interest. Additional Panel Members from the physical chemistry community will be included to provide expert assessment and to ensure diversity requirements as set out by RACI EDI policy, including an ECR representative. The identity of the assessment panel will be published following the assessment of all
  applications.
• To avoid conflicts of interest either perceived or real, panel members cannot assess individual applications (i) from the same institution, (ii) if they have published with the individual in the past 5 years, or (iii) who have a substantive previous relationship with the individual (e.g. PhD supervisor). If an applicant would like to raise additional concerns around conflicts of interest or assessment of their application, they may do so confidentially to the Division Chair, Secretary, or Treasurer who will consult with RACI National Office to ensure a fair assessment process.

Assessment process:

• The assessment is based on an evaluation by panellists of the relative merits of each applicant in the following five areas (equally weighted):
  - research excellence: research output, impact (citations), funding & award successes and similar
  - independence: clear evidence of research leadership, establishing new collaborations, ideas & direction separate from previous advisors
  - creativity: imaginative, novel & useful ideas addressing important problems and/or important gaps in the literature
  - impact: impact of their research papers & ideas, and research-related service activities (e.g. conference organisation, RACI involvement, workshops etc) on any relevant community
  - vision: clear & strong idea of their research portfolio, strengths & future directions
• Each panel member will be asked to assess multiple applications and provide a moderated numerical evaluation against these five selection criteria.

Nominations are to be submitted online (link on this page).

Members will be advised when nominations are open for submission.

Following the deadline, no additional applications or nominations for the award will be considered.

If the selection committee determines that no candidate demonstrates adequate merit, they reserve the right to abstain from granting the award.

Link here