Rita Cornforth Lectureship
The award has been established to honour the pioneering contributions of Lady Rita Cornforth (1915-2012), the wife of Nobel Laureate Sir John Warcup Cornforth (1917-2013) and collaborator on 46 of his papers. In his Nobel Lecture, Sir John paid tribute to his wife's pivotal contributions to their joint work: "...with patience and great experimental skill [she] executed much of the chemical synthesis on which the success of the work was founded."
The aim of the award is to provide an outstanding female Early Career chemist with an opportunity to achieve broader recognition of their career achievements to date, and help establish collaborations and networks that will further assist them in establishing an independent career. The award will recognise an outstanding contribution to chemical research in any sphere including industry, the public sector and academia.
The award will consist of a medal, to be presented at the RACI Annual Awards Dinner, and reasonable travel expenses (up to $3000) for a lecture tour within Australia. It is expected that the recipient will also be invited to give a keynote lecture at the next relevant divisional or national congress or other RACI endorsed speaking opportunity.