Liversidge Award and Lectureship in the Chemical Sciences

Liversidge Award and Lectureship in the Chemical Sciences

About the Award

The Award recognises distinguished research in any area of the Chemical Sciences, conducted mainly in New South Wales. Recipients may be resident in Australia or elsewhere.

The Liversidge Lectureship was established in 1931 by the Royal Society of NSW in conjunction with the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI), in honour of Archibald Liversidge MA LLD FRS, Professor of Chemistry at The University of Sydney (1874-1907), and one of the Society’s Council members who sponsored its Act of Incorporation in 1881. In 2023, Council designated it the Royal Society of NSW Liversidge Award and Lectureship.

Born in England, Liversidge was educated at the Royal College of Chemistry and the Royal School of Mines. In 1872 he joined The University of Sydney as ‘Reader in Geology and Assistant in the Laboratory’, and in 1874 was appointed Professor of Geology and Mineralogy. He later helped to establish the Industrial, Technological and Sanitary Museum, the forerunner of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, and was prominent in the establishment of ANZAAS. Liversidge reformed the Society in the 1870s and was responsible for its incorporation. He was Honorary Secretary for many years, designing a new seal incorporating motifs representing the Sections of the Society, symbols of the Colony and broader characteristics of society.

Liversidge Lecture 2022

The Liversidge Lecture for 2022 has been awarded to Professor Timothy W Schmidt FRSN FRACI CChem of the School of Chemistry at UNSW Sydney. Professor Schmidt is internationally recognised as a molecular spectroscopist working on diverse problems from astrophysics to renewable energy. In the gas phase, he has recorded spectra of many hydrocarbon radicals for the first time and discovered new electronic excitations of the dicarbon molecule. In the condensed phase, his work concentrates on triplet-triplet annihilation and singlet fission for solar energy applications. His work has been recognised by a number of prizes including the Broida Prize (International Symposium on Free Radicals 2015), the Coblentz Award (2010), the RACI Physical Chemistry Lectureship and the RACI Physical Chemistry Medal (2021).Kaarin Anstey, from Neuroscience Research Australia of UNSW Sydney, is a world leader in cognitive ageing and dementia risk reduction. Her program of research has contributed greatly to the evidence base on dementia prevention through the identification and quantification of risk factors for dementia, the development of risk assessment tools, and the implementation of interventions. Moreover, her work has directly informed public policy and guidelines, both within Australia and globally, particularly in her collaboration with the World Health Organization. As a consequence, she has made an important, sustained, positive impact on the lives of tens of thousands of people in Australia and around the world.

Timothy Schmidt

Liversidge Lecture 2020

The Liversidge Lecture for 2020 was awarded to Professor Richard Payne FRSN FRACI FRSC of theSchool of Chemistry of the University of Sydney. Professor Payne’s research focusses on the development of technologies for the chemical synthesis of therapeutic peptides and proteins. These technologies have facilitated the preparation of numerous proteins bearing modifications that enhance activity and stability, critical features in the quest to develop efficacious protein therapeutics. His approaches have also been combined with recombinant methods to generate large therapeutic proteins and even antibodies—methods that have been widely adopted in the laboratories of international academics and pharmaceutical companies alike. He has developed synthetic proteins that are amongst the most potent antithrombotic agents ever reported, and which have an enormous therapeutic potential for thrombo- embolic disorders. Professor Payne has been awarded numerous prizes and medals including the 2014 RSNSW Edgeworth David Medal and the H G Smith and A J Birch Medals of the RACI.

Professor Richard Payne

Liversidge Lecture 2018

The Liversidge Lecture for 2018 was awarded to Scientia Professor Martina Stenzel FRSN FAA. She is an ARC Future Fellow and co-director of the Centre for Advanced macromolecular Design, School of Chemistry, UNSW. Professor Stenzel, a polymer chemistry, is a leading authority in the field of RAFT polymerisation, and more recently on biomedical applications of polymers. These include drug delivery nanoparticles and anti-cancer applications of nanoparticles. Along with an extensive publication record, she has had a number of significant awards, including the LeFevre Medal from the Australian Academy of Science, a RACI polymer division citation award and, recently, election to the Australian Academy of Science.

List of Past Recipients of the RSNSW Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Medal

Year & Lecturer Year & Lecturer
1931    H. Hey
1933    W.J. Young
1940    G.J. Burrows
1942    J.S. Anderson
1944    F.P. Bowen
1946    L.H. Briggs
1948    I. Lauder
1950    H.R. Marston
1952    A.G.L. Rees
1954    M.R. Lemberg
1956    G.M. Badger
1958    A.D. Wadsley
1960    R.J.W. Le Fevre
1962    D.O. Jordan
1964    A. Albert
1966    L.E. Lyons
1968    R.D. Brown
1970    G.W.K. Cavill
1974    A.J. Birch
1976    R.L. Martin
1978 H.C. Freeman
1980 S.R. Johns
1982 D.P. Craig
1984 D.H. Napper
1986 B.G. Hyde
1988 R.J. Hunter
1990 D.StC. Black
1992 S. Sternhell
1994 I.G. Dance
1996 D.J. Swaine
1998 L.F. Lindoy
2000 M.A. Wilson
2002 G. Johnston
2008 Cameron Kepert
2010 John White
2012 Thomas Maschmeyer
2014 Martin Banwell
2016 Justin Gooding
2018 Martina Stenzel
2020 Richard Payne
2022 Timothy W. Schmidt
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