Award Programs

Paracelsus Prize
CHF 20 000 and medal in gold awarded to an internationally outstanding scientist for his/her lifetime achievements in chemical research

Werner Prize
CHF 10'000 and medal in bronze awarded to a promising young scientist for outstanding independent chemical research

Sandmeyer Award
CHF 10'000 for individuals or CHF 20'000 for groups awarded to a person or to a group for outstanding work in industrial or applied chemistry

SCS Industrial Science Awards
Awards on three career levels with cash checks of CHF 7'000, 10'000 and 15'000 honor active industrial scientists working in Switzerland for their outstanding contributions in industrial R&D

Grammaticakis-Neumann Prize
CHF 5'000 awarded to a promising young scientist for outstanding independent research in photochemistry, photo physics or molecular photobiology

Green & Sustainable Chemistry Award
CHF 10'000 honors outstanding scientific discoveries that lay the foundation for environmentally friendly approaches and products. It is implemented in collaboration with Syngenta as founding partner and SusChem Switzerland as hosting institution.  

Balmer Prize
CHF 2'000 for individuals and CHF 2'000 for the school’s chemistry department or CHF 3'000 for a group and CHF 1'000 for the school’s chemistry department awarded to a teacher working in Switzerland at high school (gymnasium) level for innovation in chemistry teaching

Dr. Max Lüthi Award
CHF 1'000 and medal in bronze presented for an outstanding diploma thesis in Chemistry conducted at a Swiss University of Applied Sciences

Simon-Widmer Award
CHF 5'000 honors distinguished scientists for their contribution to analytical science and the education of analytical scientists

METAS Award
CHF 5'000 honors outstanding contribution to the field of metrology in chemistry and/or biology

Cancer Drug Discovery Research Award
CHF 10'000 in total for 2-4 winners. The award honors outstanding contribution of young, Swiss based researchers in the field of cancer drug discovery research

DMCCB PhD Prize
Certificate and cash check of CHF 1’500. The prize is for exceptional PhD theses in the field of Medicinal Chemistry and/or Chemical Biology completed at a Swiss University or ETH/EPF

Ruzicka-Prize (ETH Zurich)
The Ružička Prize, named after the ETH professor and Nobel laureate Leopold Ružička, is considered one of the most important awards for the promotion of young scientists in the field of chemistry in Switzerland.

Honorary Members
Honorary membership is awarded to individuals who have rendered the Swiss Chemical Society great service or who have made an outstanding contribution to science.

Chemistry Travel Awards
CHF 1'000 towards the cost of active participation (poster or oral presentation) at an international conference in the field of the chemical sciences are granted to selected PhD students.

Chemistry Europe Fellows
16 societies who jointly own 11 journals and the online magazine ChemViews have established a fellowship to honor members for their outstanding service to chemistry in Europe.

Helvetica Prize
the Helvetica Prize of the Swiss Chemical Society for the best published papers of PhD/Postdocs is endowed with CHF 1'000 for the winner and CHF 500 for the runner up. It highlights scienific excellence of two young researchers.

DIAC Fellowship Award
CHF 1'000 and lecture tour in Switzerland. The distinction is granted to distinguished scientists from Industry for significant contributions and innovations over many years in the field of industrial chemistry and chemical process technology in Switzerland.

Swiss CleanTech Award (program suspended in 2022)
CHF 5'000 for the winner and CHF 5'000 for runners-up awarded to Master students, PhD students, and Postdocs in Switzerland in the field of Sustainable Chemistry

SCS Lectureship Awards
The SCS Lectureships are awarded to world-class distinguished scientists and it is organized under the patronage of the Swiss Chemical Society. Over a week, the lecturers give five presentations and discuss with colleagues at four to five different Swiss research institutions. The selection of the lecturers follows a bottom-up approach where PIs from all Swiss research institutions can propose candidates. The program covers all areas of chemistry. The choice among the proposed lectureships is made by the board of the Division of Fundamental Research (DFR).

Heilbronner-Hückel Lectureship
The Heilbronner-Hückel Lecture Series was implemented in 2009 with the first series in 2010 together with the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh). The annual series takes place alternatively in Switzerland and Germany.

Eschenmoser Lectureship (ETH Zurich)
It is the great privilege of the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry to inaugurate an annual lectureship honoring the contributions of Professor Albert Eschenmoser to the fields of Organic Synthesis and Biological Chemistry.

Prelog Lecture (ETH Zurich)
The Prelog Lecture is organized annually by the Laboratory of   Organic Chemistry.
The Medal is awarded for innovative and creative contributions to stereochemistry in its broadest sense.

LM. Venanzi Distinguished Lecture (ETH Zurich)
The research activities at the LAC encompass synthesis and characterization of complex systems with atomic and molecular level precision, with the increasing focus on energy and sustainability. The LM. Venanzi Distinguished Lecture is given by the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at ETH Zurich.

Richard R. Ernst Lecture (ETH Zurich)
The Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of ETH Zurich annually organises the Richard R. Ernst Lecture to honour Professor Richard R. Ernst, Laureate of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1991. The aim of the lecture is to strengthen the connection between science and society, and to raise awareness for the problems that society faces in the future. Every year a meritorious personality is invited to hold the lecture. At this occasion, the lecturer is awarded the Richard R. Ernst Gold Medal.

Chemistry Travel Award
Through the «Chemistry Travel Award», contributions towards the cost of participation at an international conference in the chemical sciences are granted to selected PhD students. The award is sponsored by the Platform Chemistry of the SCNAT and the Swiss Chemical Society.

Best Poster- / Oral Presentation Award
For generations of young chemists educated in Switzerland, the Fall Meeting has been a great platform to present their research – often for the first time ever at a major conference- and to be inspired by the people one gets to meet. Finally, the best student oral and poster-presentations of each session will be awarded prizes. The SCS Metrohm and DSM Award Programs are among the most highly remunerated, and the Award Ceremony at the end of the meeting marks one of the highlights of the event.

Alfred Werner Scholarships
The SCS Foundation grants scholarships for students to carry out Master of Science (MSc) degree studies in Chemistry or Biochemistry at a Swiss University or at one of the Federal Institutes of Technology. The stipends are granted upon request of the institutions that accepted the students for MSc studies.