The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society in the United Kingdom with the goal of “advancing the chemical sciences”. It was formed in 1980 from the merger of the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society, and the Society for Analytical Chemistry. The headquarters are at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. The RSC has 185 local sections around Great Britain and Northern Ireland; there are also numerous overseas branches including one in Australia and another in New Zealand.
The RSC promotes, supports and develops chemistry education across all ages through its outreach programme ChemLabS. The society also publishes multiple scientific journals including Chemical Communications, Dalton Transactions and Biochemical Journal; a magazine called Chemistry World; books for both academics and secondary school students; support materials for teachers; an online careers service; scholarship programmes such as undergraduate bursaries and teacher fellowships.
In addition to these activities, each year the RSC awards prizes to chemists or their work in recognition of their contributions to science. These include:
-The Sir Humphry Davy Medal – For “an outstanding contribution to experimental or theoretical chemistry” by someone aged 35 years or under at time of nomination.
-The Michael Faraday Prize – For “extraordinary achievement” in communicating science to UK audiences through lectures, broadcasting or writing.”
-The Tilden Prize – Awarded jointly with The Scott Trust Limited (publishers of The Guardian newspaper), this prize recognises “a significant advance that contributes broadly to pure or applied chemical science”.