Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford

Congratulations to Oxford chemists recognised in this year’s Royal Society of Chemistry prizes, celebrating outstanding contributions to research and innovation across the chemical sciences.

Professor Yimon Aye has been awarded the RSC Corday-Morgan Mid-Career Prize for Chemistry for her pioneering work developing live-cell-based tools to elucidate, reprogramme and chemically manipulate biological signalling mechanisms.

Her group’s research into “precision electrophile signalling” is opening new ways to understand how cells respond to stress, with implications for drug development and stress-associated disease.

Oxford researchers have also been recognised as part of Team SMOM, winner of the RSC Dalton Horizon Prize. The team was honoured for developing solid-state molecular organometallic chemistry, an innovative approach that removes solvent from the equation to better control, analyse and use highly reactive transition metal complexes.

Congratulations to all those recognised!



www.chem.ox.ac.uk/article/oxford-chemists-recognised-with-royal-society-of-chemistry-prizes?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=140

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health.

This ITV News report highlights how researchers at the Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research are working to discover new antibiotics and develop innovative ways to stay ahead of drug-resistant infections.

Watch the full report:

Oxford scientists work to find new antibiotics as drug resistance concerns grow - Latest From ITV News Watch the latest from ITV News - The city was at the forefront of developing penicillin 100 years ago.

Congratulations to Professor Véronique Gouverneur, Waynflete Professor of Chemistry, on being awarded the 2026 Grand Prix Scientifique by the Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation.

The award recognises her pioneering research to develop safer, more sustainable ways of manufacturing fluorochemicals, eliminating the need for hazardous hydrogen fluoride and advancing a circular fluorine economy through the recovery of fluorine from waste streams.

This prestigious honour celebrates research that is helping to address major environmental challenges while shaping a more sustainable future.

Véronique Gouverneur awarded Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation Grand Prix Scientifique Congratulations to Véronique Gouverneur, Waynflete Professor of Chemistry, who has been awarded the 2026 Grand Prix Scientifique of the Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation.

🔬Technical staff play a critical part in research and innovation.

Great to see University of Oxford colleagues Dr John Walsby-Tickle and Prof James McCullagh featured in the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy's new Technical Careers Resource Hub, highlighting the impact and expertise technical professionals bring across higher education and research.

Watch the video and explore the resource hub here:

Technical staff as partners - UK ITSS Discover tools and guides to position technical staff as valued partners in higher education and research from the Technical Careers Resource Hub.

Why are PFASs so hard to replace?

Read about Professor Véronique Gouverneur and her team’s pioneering work in fluorine chemistry, which has been featured in Nature this week:

Why are PFASs so hard to replace? As the toxic legacy of ‘forever chemicals’ grows, researchers are racing to develop safer alternatives.

🧩 Problem solving and spatial awareness go beyond the lab...

Congratulations to DPhil student Eirik Moen Liane from the Kirrander Group, who recently finished in the Top 100 at the inaugural Speed Puzzle World Series in Munich.

The international jigsaw puzzling competition featured six timed rounds, with competitors racing to complete a series of 500-piece puzzles — including a “mystery challenge” assembled without a reference image.

Eirik placed 74th overall, completing all six rounds in a combined time of 5 hours, 32 minutes and 42 seconds. Congratulations, Eirik!

♻️ Turning CO₂ into sustainable plastics, more efficiently

Researchers from Oxford Chemistry have published today in Nature Chemistry a new predictive method to optimise catalysts for CO₂-based polymer production at lower pressures. Their methods apply generally to many of the best catalysts already published in the field.

"It is incredibly exciting to think that the work you do on a lab scale could be used to advance sustainability targets" – PhD student and first author Rosie Thorogood

Read more:

New predictive method for manufacturing low-pressure CO₂-based polymers One promising route to more sustainable plastic production is the ring-opening copolymerisation (ROCOP) of carbon dioxide with epoxides to produce polycarbonates. This method transforms CO2 – an abundant, low-cost C1 feedstock – into value-added polymers and materials. Current catalysts for this...

Congratulations to Dr Xhoela Bame, who has been named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe (Science & Healthcare).

A Novo Nordisk Oxford Fellow in our department, her research is advancing new ways to understand and repair cellular damage, with applications in neurodegeneration and cardiovascular disease.

https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30/2026/europe/science-healthcare

Forbes 30 Under 30 2026: Science & Healthcare Redefining the way we eat, drink and think about consumption.

“It has been great for meeting people in research groups that I wouldn’t routinely connect with any other way.”

Oxford Chemistry’s choir, the Keytones, featured in Chemistry World last week.

Bringing students, researchers and staff together for weekly lunchtime rehearsals, it helps build connections across the department through music.

A reminder that collaboration in science starts with community!

Read more:

Meet the researchers who are making bonds outside of the lab There are many benefits to participating in extracurricular activities with colleagues

Professor Claire Vallance from Oxford Chemistry will be speaking in London at this year’s Pint of Science festival, with a talk on “Minuscule Mysteries” on 19 May.

From the chemistry of interstellar space to the molecules that shape our universe, it’s an accessible way to engage with some fascinating science!

The festival runs 18–20 May across the UK, with events taking place in cities nationwide, so there’s likely something happening near you.

Find out more and book: https://pintofscience.co.uk/event/minuscule-mysteries/

Minuscule Mysteries What are the Universe's building blocks? What are they made of? Both fundamental and exotic particles and molecules are known to make up our Universe and c…