Category Archives: News

April 2026 News and Upcoming Events

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1.     SHAC AWARD SCHEME 2026

Remember the deadline is 31 May 2026 and application forms have to be requested in advance from grants@ambix.org . SHAC offers two types of award: support for research into the history of chemistry or history of alchemy by both new and independent scholars and support for Subject Development of either history of chemistry or history of alchemy. 

Information from: https://www.ambix.org/grants/

2.     THE PARTINGTON PRIZE 2026

SHAC is delighted to announce that the winner of the 2026 Partington Prize is Dr Flavio Bevacqua of University of Padua for the entry  “Alchemy in 15th-Century Byzantium: The Case for the Role of Georgios-Gennadios Scholarios’ Circle”.

Flavio’s entry brings together for the first time two medieval texts in the history of alchemy, reconstructing the intellectual milieu surrounding the Byzantine scholar Georgios-Gennadios Scholarios. The author diligently and judiciously integrates manuscript evidence with philological analysis and cultural contextualization, illuminating a previously underexamined dimension of alchemical history in Byzantium. We congratulate Flavio Bevacqua for his groundbreaking work.

The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry established the Partington Prize in memory of Professor James Riddick Partington, the Society’s first Chairman. It is awarded every three years for an original and unpublished essay on any aspect of the history of alchemy or chemistry. The prize-winning article will be published in the Society’s journal, Ambix, in 2026.

3.     SHAC SPRING MEETING – REMEMBERING BILL BROCK: CHEMISTRY AND CULTURE 10 April 2026, Maison Française d’Oxford, 2-10 Norham Road, Oxford, OX2 6SE  https://www.mfo.ac.uk/

This meeting is being held to commemorate the life, work and legacy of William Hodson Brock (1936-2025), who spent his entire career at the University of Leicester. Sometime chair of SHAC and editor of its journal Ambix, Brock was one of the leading historians of chemistry in his time, writing the Fontana/Norton History of Chemistry, as well as biographies of William Crookes, Justus von Liebig and Henry Edward Armstrong.

There is no charge for this meeting, but please let Frank James know, (frank.james@ucl.ac.uk) by 5 April 2026 if you wish to attend.

4.     OXFORD SEMINARS IN THE HISTORY OF ALCHEMY AND CHEMISTRY – SPONSORED BY SHAC 13TH, 20TH MAY AND 3RD JUNE

 Convenors: Ellen Hausner (Oxford), Sergei Zotov (Warburg), and Jo Hedesan (Oxford)

The meetings take place between 3 pm and 5 pm at the Maison Française d’Oxford, 2-10 Norham Road, Oxford, OX2 6SE. https://www.mfo.ac.uk/ There is no charge for these seminars and all are welcome to attend.  No prior registration required.

13 May 2026

Session 1 — Life and Nature in Early Modern Alchemy
Chair: Sergei Zotov (Warburg Institute)

Oana Matei (Western University of Arad): Can Life Rise from Ashes? Discussions on the Possibility of the Palingenesis of Plants in the Seventeenth Century

Xinyi Wen (Warburg Institute): Cosmos or Coitus? A Copy Census of Oswald Croll’s Basilica Chymica, 1609–1690
20 May 2026

Session 2 — Spiritual Foundations of Alchemy
Chair: Ellen Hausner (Oxford)

Mark Edwards (Oxford): Ancient Alchemy as Philosophy

Charles Burnett (Warburg Institute): Alchemy as Divinatio
3 June 2026

Session 3 — Computational History of Alchemy and Chemistry
Chair: Rob Iliffe (Oxford)

Vojtěch Kaše (University of West Bohemia, Plzeň), and Sarah Lang (Max Planck Institute, Berlin): Tracing the Histories of Early Modern Conceptual Ecosystems: Remote Sensing Methods for the Archaeology of Alchemical Knowledge

Guillermo Restrepo (Max Planck Institute, Leipzig): Computational History of Chemistry: How Big Data Illuminates Macrohistorical Trends and Microhistorical Events

2026 Partington Prize Winner

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The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry is delighted to announce that the winner of the 2026 Partington Prize is Dr Flavio Bevacqua of University of Padua for the entry “Alchemy in 15th-Century Byzantium: The Case for the Role of Georgios-Gennadios Scholarios’ Circle”.

Flavio’s entry brings together for the first time two medieval texts in the history of alchemy, reconstructing the intellectual milieu surrounding the Byzantine scholar Georgios-Gennadios Scholarios. The author diligently and judiciously integrates manuscript evidence with philological analysis and cultural contextualization, illuminating a previously underexamined dimension of alchemical history in Byzantium. We congratulate Flavio Bevacqua for his groundbreaking work.

Flavio Bevacqua is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Padua. He graduated from the same university with a bachelor’s degree in Classics and a master’s degree in Classics and Ancient History. He then obtained his doctorate in Classical Philology and Ancient Philosophy in 2025 in a joint agreement (cotutelle) between the University of Padua and the Sorbonne Université in Paris, with a dissertation focused on the works of the so-called Anepigraphos Philosopher, a seventh- or eighth-century author transmitted within the Greek alchemical corpus. His main research interests lie in the study of history of science and natural philosophy in all their aspects, including alchemy, biology, botany, physics, and metaphysics; the transmission of scientific and philosophical knowledge from Antiquity to Byzantium and the Islamicate world, on to early modern Europe; and Greek manuscripts, palaeography, and codicology, with a focus on the history of texts and philology

The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry established the Partington Prize in memory of Professor James Riddick Partington, the Society’s first Chairman. It is awarded every three years for an original and unpublished essay on any aspect of the history of alchemy or chemistry. The prize-winning article will be published in the Society’s journal, Ambix, in 2026.

Annette Lykknes receives 2026 HIST Award

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SHAC is delighted to announce that the new Editor-in-Chief of Ambix, Professor Annette Lykknes, is the winner of the Joseph B. Lambert HIST Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry for 2026 for her outstanding contributions to the advancement of the study and communication of the history of chemistry. In her nominating letter, Brigitte van Tiggelen lauded Professor Lykknes: “She acts as a figurehead for our discipline, embodying the values and ideals that make our field vibrant, creative, beneficial and inclusive.” See the current issue of SHAC’s newsletter Chemical Intelligence for full details.

HIST Award Biography for Annette Lykknes (1974-)

The winner of the Joseph B. Lambert HIST Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry for 2026 is Annette Lykknes for her outstanding contributions to the advancement of the study and communication of the history of chemistry. In her nominating letter, Brigitte van Tiggelen lauded Professor Lykknes: “She acts as a figurehead for our discipline, embodying the values and ideals that make our field vibrant, creative, beneficial and inclusive.”

Professor Lykknes is a true daughter of Norway, but she has become a mother of the European community of the history of chemistry.  She was educated at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).  She received a Masters degree in Chemical Education and taught mathematics and science for two years.  While her interest in education remains a driving force for her, she decided to pursue a Ph.D. in the history of chemistry and obtained this in 2005 at NTNU under Prof. Lise Kvittingen, with thesis titled “Ellen Gleditsch: Professor, Radiochemist, and Mentor.”  Now she combines both pillars of her profession as Professor of Teacher Education at NTNU.

One of the secrets of her success is her commitment to an interdisciplinary approach to her scholarship.  In her own words: “Over the course of my academic career, I have collaborated extensively with chemists and other natural scientists as well as with educators within these fields, with historians, philosophers and sociologists of science, with pedagogy scholars and with language experts and researchers of the Norwegian language, and even with a political scientist.  The result of this is a foot in different fields and knowledge of quite distinct research methods and theoretical perspectives.”

The Award committee noted: “Professor Lykknes has contributed to an amazing array of research topical areas including: history of women scientists, studies of the collaborations of couples in science, history of the periodic table, discovery of the chemical elements, history of chemical education, how twentieth-century chemical engineers shaped the relationships between the academy and industries, and the application of the history of science to teach science.”  Alan Rocke especially noted her treatment of the work of Marie Curie as “revealing the complex nature of scientific discovery itself.”

Annette Lykknes is at the center of the worldwide community of historians of chemistry..  She is now the Editor-in-Chief of the flagship journal Ambix. She is currently the Chair of the Division of the History of Chemistry of the European Chemical Society.  While her publication record is sterling, and her research is groundbreaking, her greatest achievements have been as a leader. 

HIST is thrilled to honor Professor Annette Lykknes with the 2026 Joseph B. Lambert Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry.

1st Brock Award given to Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent

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The first Brock Award is given to Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent for her lifetime of outstanding work in the history of chemistry. For about four decades she has produced original and thought-provoking research in the history and philosophy of chemical and materials science, significantly shaping the historiography of chemistry. Her work stands as an inspiring example of how innovative approaches in these fields can not only illuminate significant historical and philosophical ideas in the chemical sciences, they can also meaningfully contribute to addressing contemporary societal challenges. Bensaude-Vincent has played a key role in establishing collaboration and building scholarly communities across Europe, and in nurturing new generations of scholars in history of chemistry, both formally and informally.

The Brock Award honours Professor William ‘Bill’ Hodson Brock (1936-2025), one of the leading historians of chemistry of the last fifty years, and is for outstanding contributions in the fields of the history of alchemy and chemistry.

October 2025 News

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Lots of SHAC events and activities are coming up in the next six months. We hope you can join us at one of them and that you enjoy the new publications.

Remembering Bill Brock

William ‘Bill’ Hodson Brock (1936-2025) was one of the leading historians of chemistry of the last fifty years. As Chair of SHAC and editor of Ambix he played a major role in the Society from the 1960s to the 2000s. He also wrote on the history of publishing, education and many other aspects of nineteenth-century science and culture, publishing in 1992 The Fontana/Norton History of Chemistry, a general history of chemistry from antiquity to the present. To commemorate his life, work and legacy, SHAC is organising a one-day meeting to be held on Friday 10 April 2026 at the Maison Française d’Oxford. Offers of papers (including a short abstract) related in some way to Brock’s work should be sent to Frank James (frank.james@ucl.ac.uk) by 30 November 2025.

Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry – Book of the Light of the Great Magistery

Lawrence M. Principe’s critical edition, English translation, and detailed study of the Book of the Light of the Great Magistery by the Franciscan friar, alchemist, and prophet of the antichrist John of Rupescissa (ca. 1310-1366) forms the third volume of Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry. It will appear in early 2026 as the supplement to the 2025 issue of Ambix. Based on over one hundred surviving manuscripts, many recently discovered, this critical edition restores substantial original text omitted from the printed editions and corrects longstanding textual errors. In the accompanying study, Principe explores John’s sources and ideas, and follows the transmission, reception, vernacularization, and multiple modifications of John’s text over the next three centuries. Modern experimental reworkings, fully illustrated and explained, complement the textual analyses and provide a more vivid understanding of the friar’s practical and observational skills. John intended this book to provide his Franciscan brethren with the financial means, through production of the philosophers’ stone, to rebuild a devastated Christendom after the fall of the antichrist whom he predicted would arrive in 1366. The new critical text and analyses reveal John as an innovative practitioner and theorist, and provokes a close re-examination of the conditions of his nearly twenty-year confinement at the papal prison in Avignon where he wrote his Book of Light.

SHAC Webinars

Recent talks include Francesca Antonelli on “Family historians? Women and the construction of scientific memory, from Mme Lavoisier (1758-1836) to Lucie Laugier (1822-1900)” and Ellen Hausner on “Early modern alchemical characters: the case of Simon Forman (1552-1611).” These can be viewed on the SHAC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/SocietyforHistoryofAlchemyandChemistry

The next webinar will take place on Thursday 27 November 2025 at 5pm GMT. Look out for details in SHAC member emails, social media, Chem-Hist and Mersenne.

SHAC Postgraduate and Early Career Conference – Call for Papers “The Secrets of Nature”

Friday 20 March 2026 at the Allard Pierson Artis Library, Plantage Middenlaan 45, 1018 DC Amsterdam. Deadline for submissions: January 5th 2026

This conference seeks to explore the relation between (al)chemical work and “The Secrets of Nature” within and beyond the laboratory. By foregrounding this theme, this conference emphasizes the central role of nature in Alchemy and Chemistry, disciplines that have been fundamental to the History of Science and to Intellectual History more broadly.

This conference invites participants to consider how the theme of Nature has been explored, represented, and debated across different contexts and periods. This topic allows for a wide range of approaches, from textual and visual analysis to conceptual and methodological reflections. The aim of this conference is to create an academic setting in which early career researchers can come together, share their work, and open new conversations about the place of the natural world in the history of alchemy and chemistry. We are delighted to announce that Prof. Dr. Frank James and Dr. Timothy Grieve-Carlson will deliver the keynote lectures at this event, which will be hosted in the Allard Pierson Artis Library, located in Amsterdam’s historic Plantage district. Surrounded by 19th-century architecture and botanical gardens, Artis has long been a center for the study and display of the natural world, playing a key role in the development of the History of Science in Amsterdam. Participants will also have the opportunity and are encouraged to engage with the rich collection of the State-owned part Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica of the Allard Pierson; the manuscripts and printed books from the collection are available for consultation, offering researchers the chance to work directly with sources. Access the collection online using the links provided below. https://www.allardpierson.nl/en/natural-history https://www.allardpierson.nl/en/collection/history-of-sciencehttps://www.allardpierson.nl/en/esotericism

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

● Conceptions of nature in alchemy, chemistry, and natural philosophy.

● (Al)chemical emblems and other visual strategies to transmit (al)chemical knowledge.

● (Al)chemical practice and the development of Early Modern medical knowledge in botanical gardens, for example the case of the Hortus Medicus in Amsterdam.

● Environmental history and historical understandings of the natural world.

● The transformation of substances: chemical processes and their conceptual frameworks.

We welcome proposals for 20 minute talks by graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early career scholars who have received their doctorate no more than three years ago. If you are interested in presenting your work, please send an abstract of approximately 300 words and a short bio to SHAC Student Representative Amber Rozenrichter at studentrep@ambix.org. The deadline for submissions is 5th January 2026.

If you have any questions please contact Amber Rozenrichter at the above email address.

Forthcoming Special Issue of Ambix – August and November 2025 Double Issue

The next issue of Ambix to be published will be a special double issue covering August and November 2025. It will explore the nature and agency of fire and its role in human interaction with the material world by focusing on premodern heat technologies. It takes a wide comparative view of different practices, including metalwork and distillation, with an emphasis on early modern Europe and pre-Hispanic South America. The double issue is scheduled to appear online in November and in print soon after. Remember online access to Ambix is included in your membership.

Partington Prize 2026 – Call for Entries

The Partington Prize is awarded every three years for an original and unpublished essay on any aspect of the history of alchemy or chemistry. The prize consists of five hundred pounds (£500), with the winning article published in SHAC’s Journal, Ambix. The competition is open to anyone with a scholarly interest in the history of alchemy or chemistry who, has not reached thirty-five years of age, or if older is enrolled in a degree programme or has been awarded a master’s degree or PhD within the previous three years. Entries must arrive before midnight GMT on 31 December 2025.

Examples of past-prize winning essays, including Armel Cornu’s 2023 Prize-Winning Essay, “Senses and Utility in the New Chemistry” can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/yamb20/collections/best-paper-partington-prize

Full details can be found in the May 2025 issue of Ambix and at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00026980.2025.2477948

Best regards

The SHAC Officers

Fall 2025 News: Brock Award, SHI Meeting, Ambix Special Issues, Partington Prize

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Brock Award 2025

The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry is pleased to announce the winner of the first Brock Award. The Brock Award honours Professor William ‘Bill’ Hodson Brock (1936-2025), one of the leading historians of chemistry of the last fifty years, and is for outstanding contributions in the fields of the history of alchemy and chemistry.

The Brock Award for 2025 is given to Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent for her lifetime of outstanding work in the history of chemistry. For about four decades she has produced original and thought-provoking research in the history and philosophy of chemical and materials science, significantly shaping the historiography of chemistry. Her work stands as an inspiring example of how innovative approaches in these fields can not only illuminate significant historical and philosophical ideas in the chemical sciences, they can also meaningfully contribute to addressing contemporary societal challenges. Bensaude-Vincent has played a key role in establishing collaboration and building scholarly communities across Europe, and in nurturing new generations of scholars in history of chemistry, both formally and informally.

Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, a philosopher by training holds a doctorate from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. A professor at University of Paris Nanterre from 1989 to 2010, she moved to the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. She is now professor emerita and a member of the French Academy of Technologies. She continues to publish innovative work and engage with both the scholarly community and public audiences.

The Brock Award will be presented to Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent at a special SHAC meeting to honour Bill Brock’s memory in spring 2026. Details will be sent to SHAC members when available.

SHAC at SHI – 16-17 October 2025

Just a quick reminder that registration to attend this meeting on the history of alchemy and chemistry, jointly organised by SHAC and SHI, to be held at SHI in Philadelphia is open until 10 October. For further details please visit: https://www.sciencehistory.org/visit/events/fall-2025-meeting-of-the-society-for-the-history-of-alchemy-and-chemistry/

Forthcoming Special Issue of Ambix – August and November 2025 Double Issue

The next issue of Ambix to be published will be a special double issue covering August and November 2025. It will explore the nature and agency of fire and its role in human interaction with the material world by focusing on premodern heat technologies. It takes a wide comparative view of different practices, including metalwork and distillation, with an emphasis on early modern Europe and pre-Hispanic South America. The double issue is scheduled for the November Ambix publication slot and members will be updated on dispatch nearer the time. In advance of publication, articles will appear online at: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/yamb20 . Remember online access to Ambix is included in your membership.

Partington Prize 2026 – Call for Entries

The Partington Prize is awarded every three years for an original and unpublished essay on any aspect of the history of alchemy or chemistry. The prize consists of five hundred pounds (£500), with the winning article published in SHAC’s Journal, Ambix. The competition is open

to anyone with a scholarly interest in the history of alchemy or chemistry who, has not reached thirty-five years of age, or if older is enrolled in a degree programme or has been awarded a master’s degree or PhD within the previous three years. Entries must arrive before midnight GMT on 31 December 2025.

Examples of past-prize winning essays, including Armel Cornu’s 2023 Prize-Winning Essay, “Senses and Utility in the New Chemistry” can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/yamb20/collections/best-paper-partington-prize

Full details can be found in the May 2025 issue of Ambix and at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00026980.2025.2477948

Best wishes

SHAC Officers