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