The Commission on the History of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences (CHCMS)
The Commission on the History of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences (CHCMS) is one of the historical commissions of the Division for the History of Science and Technology (DHST) of the International Union for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPST).
The Commission on the History of Modern Chemistry was established in 1997 to support and promote research on the history of modern chemistry with particular emphasis on twentieth-century chemistry. In 2017, the commission changed its name and expanded its purview to the molecular sciences, broadly construed, including areas of interest such as materials sciences, life sciences and environmental science. It then also expanded its time-scope to periods other than the twentieth century.
One of the missions of the CHCMS is the support and the fostering of a younger generation of scholars in the field of the history of chemical and molecular sciences and technologies.
To that aim the CHCMS is setting up a “CHCMS Early Career Lecture” award that is meant to highlight original work and innovative methods and perspectives in the field. The Lecture will be given at the biennial International Conferences on the History of Chemistry (ICHC).
For the 2025 edition, the awardee will be invited as guest at the 14ICHC which is taking place in Valencia, Spain, June 11-14, 2025. The awardee will also commit to an interview to be shared through the CHCMS website and YouTube channel.
Criteria: who is considered an early career scholar?
The nominees must have obtained their PhD within the last 10 years and be aged 40 or less by the time of the nomination. The application of these criteria under special circumstances (such as parental leave or change of career for instance) will be left to the discretion of the Selection Committee.
Selection procedure
Nomination will include a short presentation making the case for the nominee’s work in the context of the present and future state of the field, a full CV, a sample of the three most important publications, and a list of two referees. In particular, the nominator(s) should clearly argue in the short presentation how the nominee’s work and publications are bringing new insights, using original methodologies, providing fresh approaches and novel perspectives in the field of history of chemistry and the molecular sciences.
Self-nominations are not accepted.
Nominations should be sent to bvantiggelen@sciencehistory.org no later than December 30, 2024. The CHCMS Early Career Lecturer will be announced in February 2025.