Cardiff researchers secure multiple accolades at 2025 Royal Society of Chemistry Awards

Cardiff School of Chemistry has once again demonstrated world-class excellence in chemical research, securing recognition across multiple categories at the 2025 Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Awards.

This year's RSC awards highlighted groundbreaking contributions from Cardiff chemists in areas ranging from green chemistry and catalysis to photocrystallography and science communication.

The RSC prizes are among the most esteemed in the field, awarded annually to individuals and teams whose work has made exceptional contributions to the advancement of the chemical sciences through research, innovation, and public engagement.

Congratulations to all the 2025 RSC prizewinners at Cardiff, whose awards were as follows:

• Professor Rebecca Melen receives the 2025 Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Prize, awarded for insights into the reactivity of frustrated Lewis pairs by single- and two-electron pathways.
• Dr James Redman receives the 2025 Award for Exceptional Service to the Royal Society of Chemistry through the Chemical Biology and Bioorganic Group and the South East Wales Local Section.
• Dr Lauren Hatcher receives the 2025 Harrison-Meldola Early Career Prize for Chemistry, awarded for innovative developments in real-time photocrystallography, including the study of three-dimensional chemical switches. Dr Hatcher has also been awarded the George M. Sheldrick Prize from the European Crystallographic Society:
• Professor Sir Richard Catlow, Max Quayle, and Dr Alberto Roldan, who are part of the UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Economy programme, which has won the 2025 Environment, Sustainability and Energy Horizon Prize.
• School alumnus Dr Florence Huynh won the 2025 Rising Star in Industry Prize.
  Dr Huynh completed her PhD at the School of Chemistry in 2021.

Professor Deborah Kays, Head of the School of Chemistry, expressed immense pride in the School’s collective achievements: “It is with deep pride that I congratulate my colleagues for these well-deserved prizes and awards from the Royal Society of Chemistry. These esteemed honours recognise the range of achievements and impacts of our highly successful teaching and research community at Cardiff School of Chemistry.“

These accolades reaffirm Cardiff University’s reputation as a hub of scientific excellence and lasting societal impact. The School of Chemistry’s success reflects its commitment to nurturing innovation, supporting diversity in science, and pushing the boundaries of inquiry for a better world.