THE SOUTH AFRICAN CHEMICAL INSTITUTE AWARDS

THE GOLD MEDAL
The medal shall be known as the Gold Medal of the South African Chemical Institute. The medal is gold-plated and bears the Institute’s name and crest on the obverse, and the name of the medal, together with the name of the recipient and the date on the reverse. The award shall be made to a member of the Institute in good standing, whose scientific contributions in the field of chemistry or chemical technology are adjudged to be of outstanding merit. The medal shall be accompanied by a monetary award to the value of R10 000, together with a suitably inscribed scroll.

THE RAIKES MEDAL
The medal shall be known as The Raikes Medal of the South African Chemical Institute. The medal is gold-plated and bears a likeness of Humphrey Rivaz Raikes with his name on the obverse, and the Institute’s name and crest, and the name of the recipient and the date on the reverse. The award shall be made to a member of the Institute, in good standing and under the age of 40 on 31 December in the year of the award, whose original chemical research shows outstanding promise, as judged by the person’s publications in reputable journals. It is further stipulated that the research shall have been performed in South Africa. The medal shall be accompanied by a monetary award to the value of R2 500, together with a suitably inscribed scroll.

THE CHEMICAL EDUCATION MEDAL
The medal shall be known as the Chemical Education Medal of the South African Chemical Institute. The award shall be made to a member of the Institute, in good standing, who has made an outstanding contribution to chemical education, as judged by the person’s published work in the previous five years. Published work may be in any form and may be related to any level or educational context. The medal shall be accompanied by a suitably inscribed scroll.

THE MERCK MEDAL
The medal shall be known as the Merck Medal of the South African Chemical Institute. The medal is gold-plated and bears the Institute’s name and crest on the obverse, and the name of the medal, together with the name of the recipient and the date, on the reverse. A monetary prize, of a value determined by the sponsors, and a suitably inscribed scroll shall accompany the medal.  The award shall be made to the senior author of any research paper, which has been published and most cited (without self-citation) in the South African Journal of Chemistry, for the past five years, and which is considered to have made the most significant contribution to scientific knowledge in the field of chemistry. It is further stipulated that the senior author be based in South Africa. 

THE SASOL SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY MEDAL
The medal shall be known as the Sustainable Chemistry Medal. The medal is gold-plated and bears the SASOL logo together with the inscription “Sustainability chemist of the year” on the obverse and the Institute’s name and crest and the name of the recipient on the reverse. The award shall be made to a member of the Institute, in good standing, based in South Africa whose scientific contributions in and/or renewable energy during the year preceding the award are adjudged to be outstandingly innovative. Members who are based in industry, government institutes and academia are eligible for the award. The award shall comprise, in addition to the medal, a monetary award of a value determined by the sponsors, together with a suitably inscribed scroll. The recipient of the award shall be known as the “Sasol Sustainability Chemist of the Year”.  

The medals shall be known as the Sasol Postgraduate Medals of the South African Chemical Institute. The medal is struck in silver and bears the Institute’s name and crest on the obverse, and the name of the medal, together with the name of the recipient and the date on the reverse. The awards shall be made to student members of the Institute engaged in, or who have recently completed, research towards a MSc or PhD degree in a School/Department of Chemistry at a South African University, or a MTech or DTech degree in a School/Department of Chemistry at a South African University of Technology. Student members who have recently completed must have only graduated in the period June 2022 to May 2023. The number of medals shall not exceed five per annum, and the medals are limited to one per institution. The recipients of the medals shall be known as The Sasol Postgraduate Medalists. Past SACI/Sasol Postgraduate Awardees are not eligible for nomination for a second award. The medal shall be accompanied by a suitably inscribed scroll.

The persons nominated should be considered as being “young innovative chemists”. The characteristics of such a person are:

  1. Innovation

  1. Independence

  1. Enterprise.

The selection criteria applicable to the award are:

  1. Has the candidate done something worthy of admiration in the experimental field (e.g. a new, noteworthy, experimental design)?

  1. Has the candidate communicated the experimental results in any useful way (in printed form, or at conferences or symposia)?

  1. Does the candidate have a broad appreciation of the role and context of chemistry as a science?

  1. Does the candidate play a productive role in his/her chemistry department?

The persons submitting the nominations shall supply complete curricula vitae of the candidates, detailing all academic achievements. The group of people nominating a candidate must be able to assess the impact the nominee has made in his/her department. Hence, a combined process of peer and supervisor review should inform the selection of the candidate. In addition to the backing of the supervisor, the candidate shall require the support of at least one other member of staff of the Department. The candidate must also enjoy the support of a number of fellow postgraduate research students. All the support for a candidate must be submitted in writing. The endorsements should mention how the candidate reflects the qualities enumerated in the list above. Final endorsement may reside with the Head of Department, where appropriate.

PROCEDURE FOR NOMINATION/APPLICATION
The merits of the work of candidates may be brought to the notice of the Council either by persons who desire to recommend candidates (nominations) or by the candidates themselves (applications).

Nominations and applications should be received by the Institute not later than 31 May 2023. Applicants must provide a list of publications, and/or non-confidential internal reports and other appropriate information in support of the application, together with curricula vitae detailing all academic and professional achievements. In the case of the Raikes Medal, three reprints of each of those publications considered to represent the candidate’s most significant work must be submitted. In the case of the Chemical Education Medal, copies of the publications to be considered, together with any explanatory or supporting material, must be submitted.

Each nomination or application should include the names of two persons with knowledge of the candidate’s work, to whom reference may be made by the Institute.

Further details on these awards and the particular nomination requirements can be found at the Institute’s website: www.saci.co.za.

The Council may at its discretion suspend any or all of these awards in any year in which there are no suitable candidates.

of any of the above medals.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATION(S)!