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Fellowships
- Ramsay Memorial Fellowship
Sir William Ramsay was a Professor of Inorganic and General Chemistry at UCL from 1887-1913 and Britain's first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in 1904, for his discovery of the noble gases. As a memorial to his legacy, the Ramsay Fellowship scheme was instituted in 1920.
Who are the fellowships aimed at?
The Fellowships are offered to postdoctoral chemists who already have some postdoctoral experience of research but who are in the early stages of their career, so that they may initiate a programme of original and independent research.
Please note candidates must have submitted their PhD thesis by 31 December 2022 to be eligible.
Internal sift
Each year UCL Chemistry welcomes expressions of interest for the Ramsay Fellowship scheme. To ensure that the Department of Chemistry supports the best candidates for the fellowship scheme, we carry out a competative internal sift. Prospective candidates will be shortlisted following the deadlines below:
Deadline for expression of interest Mid September Decisions made and candidates informed Early October Applications finalised (UCL Chemistry deadline) Early November Call closing date Mid November How is the internal sift conducted?
Each expression of interest is reviewed independently by two reviewers in the department who are chosen based on the subject area of the candidate’s proposal.
The reviewers grade the expression of interest against four criteria:
- Scientific track record
- Quality of research proposal
- Independence
- Match to department
While the candidate’s match to department is important, the first three criteria are deemed more important in the review process. The internal sift is coordinated by the department’s Fellowship Lead (Stefan Howorka) and Director of Research (Christoph Salzmann) along with the Senior Research Administrator.
Next steps
We kindly ask that candidates express an interest by approaching an existing member of academic staff who will act as their mentor (sending the mentor all the required details and attachments listed below). Research proposals must differ substantially from any previous unsuccessful submissions. Each mentor can only support one candidate. Candidates should not contact us directly themselves.
By the specified deadline, members of academic staff need to email the Chemistry Research Admin inbox (research.chem@ucl.ac.uk):
- Candidate’s name, contact email address, Google scholar profile link (or equivalent)
- Project title
Attachments:
- Candidate’s short proposal including: summary, objectives, scientific and societal impact, and methodology (one A4 page max.)
- Candidate’s academic CV (two A4 pages max.)
- Candidate’s short cover letter explaining why they would like to host the award in UCL Chemistry – referring to the specific expertise/equipment or the research environment in the department (one A4 page max.
Please note: all attachments must be formatted as follows:
- Font no less than Arial pt 11
- Margins no less than 2cm
If you require any information in the meantime, please email the Chemistry Research Admin inbox (research.chem@ucl.ac.uk). We look forward to receiving to hearing from you!
- EPSRC, ERC and other selected fellowships
Interested candidates are requested to contact Professor Stefan Howorka (s.howorka@ucl.ac.uk) approximately three months before the intended submissions deadline with a two page summary or a complete research proposal, a copy of their CV and a letter outlining why they think UCL Chemistry is the place to pursue their research.
Before you contact us, please make sure you satisfy the eligibility criteria for the fellowship you intend to apply for.
An internal panel composed of members of the Research Committee will then consider the applicants and select which to support. Selected candidates will be provided with an internal mentor, may be provided examples of successful proposals and will be assisted in the costing of their proposal by our Research Administration Officer.
- Royal Society University Research Fellowship
In July the Royal Society’s University Research Fellowship (URF) scheme will open for applications.
The fellowship
Each year we welcome expressions of interest for the URF. Applicants should be exceptional postdoctoral researchers with between three to eight years of actual research experience since their PhD by the closing date of the round (i.e. date on which the degree was approved by the board of graduate studies). Career breaks will be taken into consideration (see the Royal Society’s page for more information).
Department sift timescales
Prospective candidates will be shortlisted following the deadlines below:
Deadline for expression of interest (UCL) Monday 26 June 2023 (12:00 BST) Decisions made and candidates informed (UCL) By Friday 7 July 2023 Applications finalised (UCL hard deadline) Friday 25 August 2023 (17:00 BST) Call closing date Tuesday 5 September 2022 (15:00 BST) The deadline for our internal sift is Monday 26 June 2023 (12:00 BST). This is the deadline by which we ask existing academic members of staff to inform us of any suitable internal candidates they think should be considered for application.
How is the internal sift conducted?
Each expression of interest is reviewed independently by two reviewers in the department who are chosen based on the subject area of the candidate’s proposal. The reviewers grade the expression of interest against four criteria:
- Scientific track record
- Quality of research proposal with a focus on a new transformative research idea
- Independence
- Match to department
While the candidate’s match to department is important, the first three criteria are deemed more important in the review process. The internal sift is coordinated by the department’s Fellowship Lead (Stefan Howorka) and Director of Research (Christoph Salzmann) along with the Senior Research Administrator.
Finding a UCL Chemistry sponsor
We kindly ask that candidates wishing to express an interest in the scheme do so by approaching an existing member of academic staff who will act as their sponsor. This sponsor will submit your expression of interest on your behalf. Our academic staff can each sponsor one applicant per round. Please look at our research page for more information about our academics.
Instructions for the expression of interest
By 12:00 BST on Monday 26 June, please ensure that your UCL Chemistry sponsor has emailed the Chemistry Research Admin inbox (research.chem@ucl.ac.uk) with the following:
Information:
- Your name, contact email address, and Google scholar profile link (or equivalent)
- Project title
Attachments:
- A short proposal (one A4 page max.) including: summary, objectives, scientific and societal impact, and methodology
- An academic CV (two A4 pages max.)
- A short cover letter (one A4 page max.) explaining why they would like to host the award in UCL Chemistry (they may wish to comment on specific expertise/equipment or the research environment in the department)
All attachments must be formatted as follows:
- Font no less than Arial pt. 11
- Margins no less than 2cm
If you require any information in the meantime, please email the Chemistry Research Admin inbox (research.chem@ucl.ac.uk). We look forward to hearing from you!
- UKRI Future Leader Fellowships
The Department of Chemistry welcomes expressions of interest for the UKRI Future Leader Fellowships scheme.
About the scheme
Round 8 of the Future Leaders Fellowship scheme opens for applications on Monday 27 March 2023. Unlike Round 7, there will be no outline stage. Projects can last for up to four years, with the option to apply to renew for a further three years. There is no minimum or maximum award value.
What are the eligibility criteria?
The eligibility criteria are quite broad for this scheme, but it is primarily aimed at “early career researchers and innovators who are transitioning to or establishing independence”. Indeed, “Applicants who have already achieved research or innovation independence (for example, by securing funding aimed at this career stage, or by already managing their own significant programme of work within a business) should not apply. Senior academics and innovators are not permitted to apply.”
How many Chemistry applicants can there be?
UCL as an institution can only submit 10 applications for round 8 (the MAPS Faculty quota is 6). As a result, a UCL-wide review and selection process is being coordinated by the Research Coordination Offices. The Department Chemistry can only nominate one candidate for the internal selection process. Hence, the call is highly competitive and potential applicants should consult the database of existing fellows to learn about the expected research profile: https://www.ukri.org/publications/future-leaders-fellowships-database-of-fellows/
Department process
To select the Department’s candidate, we will adhere to the following timescales:
Deadline for expressions of interest (Chemistry) Sunday 2 April (23:59 BST) Decisions made and candidates informed (Chemistry) Week commencing Monday 17 April Deadline for nomination (MAPS) Wednesday 19 April (12:00 BST) UCL Faculty Nominations deadline Wednesday 26 April (12:00 BST) Next steps
If you would like to submit an expression of interest to be Chemistry’s candidate, please send the following to the Chemistry Research Admin inbox (research.chem@ucl.ac.uk) by 23:59 on Sunday 2 April.
Please title your email “UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Round 8 – expression of interest”.
Documents required
- Completed UCL FLF Expression of Interest form (see below)
- CV (2 pages + 1 page publications, no less than Arial pt 11, margins no less than 2cm)
Information required (please include this in the body of your email)
- Title of your proposal
We look forward to receiving your expressions of interest. If you have any questions in the meantime, please email the Chemistry Research Admin inbox (research.chem@ucl.ac.uk)
Meet our Royal Society University Research Fellows
- Dr Adam Clancy
- Liquid molecules adjacent to a solid surface arrange differently to the molecules in the middle of a liquid, and are different again when we put an electrical charge on the solid surface. How they reshuffle is important for understanding how a wide range of real-world systems behave, from batteries to paint. We have a good idea of how the molecules arrange when you have a large, flat surface, but the behaviours are known to change as the surface gets smaller, towards the size of the liquid molecules themselves. Unfortunately, for these small surfaces the arrangement becomes very difficult to measure, as the surfaces are usually no longer flat and/or there is very little surface to measure. I use nanomaterials – materials with widths comparable to the liquid molecules – dissolved in liquids which allows us the vary the chemistry, shape, size, and electrical charge of the surface, to understand how changes to the surface modify how different liquids behave. Beyond understanding their interesting physical properties, these liquid-dispersed nanomaterials are also incredibly useful for creating next generation energy devices from solar cells to batteries, to fibres which store energy as you twist them.
- Dr Michael Booth
- DNA and RNA form the basis for many therapeutic and experimental technologies, including gene editing and silencing, several aspects of nanotechnology, aptamers and their applications, and cell-free protein expression. It would be advantageous to control the function of these technologies, as this would greatly expand their application in biology and medicine by reducing toxic on/off-target effects and systemic toxicity. The main focus of our research is the generation of remote-controlled nucleic acids under the control of various stimuli, including temperature, magnetism, enzymes, chemical signals, and multiple wavelengths of light. These nucleic acids will be optimized to function with molecular machines, drug delivery, sensing, and siRNA and CRISPR technologies. In the future, this universal chemical method for controlling DNA and RNA structure and function may form the basis of controllable therapeutics and new technologies for basic research.
