Category Archives: News

June 2026 News

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A mixture of meetings, webinars, appeals for volunteers, information on Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry and the call for nominations for the 2027 Morris Award this month! 

1.     New SHAC Communications Editor Wanted

The SHAC Communications Editor is responsible for advertising upcoming SHAC sponsored events and award opportunities on the SHAC social media accounts (Bluesky, Instagram, and Facebook), as well as managing the Linktree associated with the SHAC Instagram account. The Communications Editor works with the Website Content Editor, the Newsletter Editor, and the Grants Chair to promote content related to the society on social media and communicates with the Ambix editorial board to promote special issues of Ambix and other news related to the journal. This is a great opportunity for a social media savvy early career scholar to connect with scholars in the field at history of science events (posting on social media from SHAC sponsored events) as well as observing the functions of Council and the journal Ambix. If you are interested in finding out more please send a paragraph outlining your research interests and relevant expertise to SHAC Chair, Frank James (frank.james@ucl.ac.uk).

2.     SHAC Meeting at the Deutsches Museum, Munich, 5-6 November 2026

A programme and registration details for SHAC’s autumn meeting, kindly hosted by the Deutsches Museum will be available shortly. The provisional social programme will include an optional museum visit and conference dinner. Numbers are limited due to the capacity of the Museum’s meeting room and participants are recommended to register as soon as booking opens.

3.     Boyle@400 – 25 January 2027, Royal Society of Chemistry, London

Robert Boyle was born at Lismore Castle on 25 January 1627. To mark the 400th anniversary of this event, a one-day conference celebrating Boyle and his achievements will be held at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, London, on Monday, 25 January 2027. This event is organised by the Historical Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry. Speakers will include Peter Anstey, Michael Bycroft, Michele DiMeo, Sachiko Kusukawa and Lawrence Principe. There is no charge for registration, but those wishing to reserve a place should send an e-mail, with ‘Boyle meeting’ in the subject line to the SHAC administrative co-ordinator at meetings@ambix.org

4.     SHAC AGM Minutes

Minutes of the AGM covering 2025 held in May 2026 are now available on our website

Annual General Meeting Minutes

SHAC is looking for a new Treasurer. If you are interested in finding out more about this role please contact Chair, Frank James on frank.james@ucl.ac.uk

5.     Next SHAC Webinar

This will take place on Thursday 24 September 2026 at 5pm BST. Look out for details in SHAC member emails, social media, Chem-Hist and Mersenne. The most recent seminar was given by Professor Lawrence Principe on “John of Rupescissa’s The Book of the Light of the Great Magistery.” This can be viewed athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=559edYHk9sY . 

6.     Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry

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 be dispatched to members in summer 2026. 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.

7.     Morris Award 2027 – Call for Nominations

The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry solicits nominations for the 2027 John and Martha Morris Award for achievement in the History of Modern Chemistry. This award honours the memory of John and Martha Morris, the late parents of Peter Morris, the former editor of Ambix, who has contributed the endowment for this award. The recipient chosen to receive the Morris Award will be expected to deliver a lecture at a meeting of SHAC, where the awardee will be presented with an appropriate framed photograph, picture or document and the sum of £300. The award is international in scope, and nominations are invited from anywhere in the world.

A complete nomination consists of

• a complete curriculum vitae for the nominee, including biographical data, educational background, awards, honours, list of publications, and other service to the profession;

• a letter of nomination summarising the nominee’s scholarly achievement in the history of recent chemistry (post-c. 1960) and the unique contributions that merit this award; and 

• names of two or three individuals for the panel to contact for further information if needed.

Only complete nominations will be considered for the award and the nomination documents must be submitted in electronic form. The Award will be judged by the selection panel on the basis of excellence in scholarly publication (papers and/or books), with nominations encouraged of scholars at all career stages and from chemist-historians and historians of chemistry. All nomination materials should be submitted by e-mail to Peter Morris at doctor@peterjtmorris.plus.com and a separate email which indicates that the material has been submitted should be sent to the same address (a precaution in case of incomplete transmission of documents) for arrival no later than 1 May 2027. 

With best wishes,

The SHAC Officers

May 2026 News

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  1. THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY IN NORTHWEST EUROPE: LOCAL AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES, LILLE, TUESDAY 5 MAY 2026, 11.00-17.20 CET

The history of the chemical industry has long attracted scholarly attention and continues to do so today. This workshop, organised by Gabriel Galvez Behar and Joris Mercelis, reflects on the current state of the historiography, including its implications for other areas of research. Focusing on Northwest Europe and its connections to other regions, the workshop provides a forum to discuss works in progress and identify avenues for future research. Those interested in attending, either in person or virtually, are encouraged to register via this link:

Answer the survey – The Chemical Industry in Northwest Europe – Evento

2.     SHAC ONLINE SEMINAR – JOHN OF RUPESCISSA’S THE BOOK OF THE LIGHT OF THE GREAT MAGISTERY: ALCHEMY, ANTICHRIST, AND IMPRISONMENT – THURSDAY, 28 MAY 2026

The next on-line seminar will be given by Professor Lawrence Principe (Johns Hopkins University). This will be live on Thursday, 28 May 2026, beginning at 5.00pm (London time). The format will be a talk of 20-30 minutes, followed by a moderated discussion of half an hour. To register please e-mail meetings@ambix.org with ‘SHAC on-line seminar’ in the subject line. You will then be sent a Zoom link on the morning of the seminar.

The seminar will be also accessible live on YouTube at:

Abstract:
Convinced that the antichrist was “at our gates,” the fourteenth-century Franciscan friar, alchemist, and prophet John of Rupescissa wrote The Book of the Light of the Great Magistery while imprisoned in papal Avignon. John’s goal was to provide a means for restoring a devastated post-antichrist Christendom using the philosophers’ stone, the substance able to transmute base metals into gold and silver. With this alchemical gold and silver, the true and faithful Franciscans, the “poor men of the Gospel,” could rebuild the Church and help usher in a millennium of peace and prosperity.

In this book launch seminar, Lawrence Principe will discuss the first critical edition, modern English translation, and focused study of John’s Book of the Light. The friar’s restored text, produced using both philological tools and laboratory reworkings, reveals John as an innovative thinker and practitioner whose ideas often oppose key features of Aristotelian natural philosophy, and requires a reassessment of the actual conditions of John’s long imprisonment. 

Most previous on-line seminars can be found on the SHAC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/SocietyforHistoryofAlchemyandChemistry

4.     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/

5.     OXFORD SEMINARS IN THE HISTORY OF ALCHEMY AND CHEMISTRY – SPONSORED BY SHAC

A reminder that theses seminars take place in person only between 3 pm and 5 pm on 13 May, 20 May and 3 June 2026 at the Maison Française d’Oxford, 2-10 Norham Road, Oxford, OX2 6SE.  All are welcome to attend. No prior registration required. For more information see: Spring 2026 Oxford Seminar in the History of Alchemy and Chemistry – Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry

Best regards

The SHAC Officer team

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.