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
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