Award Programs

As one of our four strategic pillars, SCS awards excellence in science and chemistry respectively and is proud of its renowned award program that goes back to 1936 with the ceremony of the first Werner Prizes to Dr. T. Postenak, Genève, and Prof. G. Schwarzenbach, Zurich.

The Society annualy calls for nominations for the next years SCS Awards from May to September. Nominations have to be submitted electronically to . The deadline for all documents to reach the Swiss Chemical Society is September 30. 

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

Photos Swiss Chemistry Science Night 2023