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• Sites receiving a plaque can be established to mark a person, teams, organisation, collaboration, building, process, discovery, innovation, or a breakthrough
• The nomination should represent work by people in the chemical science community which has led to significant positive impacts for local, regional, national, or global society
• The nomination should celebrate diversity in the chemical sciences
• For UK applications, the site for the plaque must be in the UK or Republic of Ireland and should celebrate or commemorate people or work based in the UK or Republic of Ireland
• The site for the plaque must be in an accessible and publicly visible space
• International applications can be considered when made through a sister society or a ÀË»¨Ö±²¥ international local section. Please speak with us before making an international application

When expressions of interest are open:

1. Before getting in touch with your proposal, please ensure that you have read our eligibility criteria and application guidance
2. Get in touch with the team using the contact details on this page to provide details of your proposal
3. A member of the team will get back to you to discuss your suggestion in more detail

Each application will be considered by a broad panel of representatives from across the RSC in areas including inclusion and diversity, research and innovation, prizes and awards, education, engagement, and communications. 

The representative group will consider:

• eligibility criteria being met
• visibility of the site for the plaque
• connection to the RSC’s purpose and mission to help the chemical science community make the world a better place
• the nature of the diversity being celebrated
• the nature of the chemistry being celebrated
• the nature of the impact on science and society – this could be local, regional, national or global and across any area including but not limited to health, climate and the environment, wealth and industry, sustainability, wellbeing, education, justice, equality, nutrition and alleviating poverty
• capacity to engage the local and/or wider community with the chemical sciences – engagement ideas provided at the application stage will be taken into account
• resource capacity and timelines to deliver in the context of other chemical landmarks in the pipeline

Please read our application guidance for further information.

From humble beginnings in his native Sri Lanka, to a more than 40 year academic career at Queen’s University Belfast, APs work, underpinned by serendipity, kindness and passion, has led to a global revolution in healthcare.

With the support of family, friends, teachers and peers, AP challenged cultural expectations and overcame the lack of opportunities in chemistry available in Sri Lanka in the early 1970s, and first moved to Belfast in 1976 to pursue a PhD in photochemistry at Queen’s University Belfast. AP’s work on molecular sensors (both in Belfast and Colombo) was inspired by his grandmother’s struggle with high blood pressure.

Through his international collaborations was born a commercial, portable and practical sodium sensor that is used in the field and healthcare settings to this day, that has saved countless lives and improved healthcare around the world.

Plaque awarded: 2024

Location: Queen’s University Belfast, School of ÀË»¨Ö±²¥ and Chemical Engineering, David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast, BT9 5AG, UK

From experimenting as a child with a treasured chemistry kit in an attic room at home, to winning a Nobel Prize, Dorothy’s highly influential scientific career was marked with dedication, determination and passion…

Dorothy suffered from chronic rheumatoid arthritis from her late twenties which made manipulating scientific equipment difficult. Despite these significant health difficulties, Dorothy balanced her health, family life and research. She advanced the X-ray crystallography technique - the key to studying and understanding the structures of biochemical compounds – and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1964 for her work determining the structure of vitamin B12 and penicillin.

Plaque awarded: 2001

Location: Department of ÀË»¨Ö±²¥, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford

Millions across the globe use ibuprofen, yet it was developed by a small, dedicated and determined team working for Boots in Nottingham. The team spent years creating and testing thousands of compounds…

Their early research took place in converted houses due to wartime city centre damage.

In 1965, the team had a breakthrough drug trial. It compared the compound now known as ibuprofen against aspirin for easing pain.

Four years later Boots launched "Brufen" as a prescription painkiller. By 1983 it was available over the counter becoming the first new non-prescription painkiller introduced since paracetamol in the mid-1950s and only the third since aspirin in 1915. Today a pack of ibuprofen is sold by Boots every two seconds. In the UK alone, annual sales reach over £150 million.

Plaque awarded: 2013

Location 1: BioCity Nottingham, Pennyfoot Street, Nottingham

Location 2: Building D6, Boots Beeston Factory Site, Dunkirk Industrial Estate, 1 Thane Road, Nottingham

DNA is one of the most well-known molecules. Its beautifully simplistic structure gives rise to the rich complexity of life on earth. No individual scientist discovered DNA…

Instead, many scientists uncovered more and more about it from 1869-1953, culminating in the discovery of the famous double helix.

This ÀË»¨Ö±²¥ plaque on The Strand in London celebrates the group of scientists whose X-ray diffraction images of crystallized DNA were key to solving the mystery of its chemical structure which has subsequently brought far-reaching technological advancements and understanding across health, agriculture and animal and forensic science.

Plaque awarded: 2003

Location: Strand Campus, King's College London

Elsie grew up in London and was a trailblazer for women in chemistry. She was one of the first female graduates of Imperial College where she gained her PhD researching sugar content in apples. This led to her influential and impactful career in dietary science…

Elsie's research interests developed into animal and human biochemistry. She headed up wartime research that saw vitamins added to food and shaped the second world war rations programme. She also improved infant formula milk in the 1980s. Widdowson’s nutrition experiments in orphanages are famous for demonstrating how a child’s emotional state can affect growth. Women researchers at Imperial College today can apply for an Elsie Widdowson award to help balance research with family life.

Plaque awarded: 2009

Location: MRC Elsie Widdowson Laboratory (formerly MRC Human Nutrition Research)

A car on the road today is 100 times less polluting than one from the 1960s.

This is due to huge advances in autocatalytic technology - the chemical technology that converts toxic pollutants from car engines into less harmful compounds…

Scientists confirmed the link between toxic smog and car fumes in the 1970s and new laws around car emissions followed. Johnson Matthey PLC had already begun developing the world’s first commercial autocatalysts. Since then it has developed catalysts and filters for petrol and diesel vehicles that have stopped billions of tonnes of car pollutants entering the air from car exhausts.

Plaque awarded: 2014

Location: Johnson Matthey PLC, Orchard Road, Royston, Hertfordshire