Swedish Chemical Society - Norblad-Ekstrand Medal

What the Norblad-Ekstrand Medal is

You will receive the honorary medal from the Swedish Chemical Society (Svenska Kemisamfundet), one of its highest honours. This recognises your outstanding lifetime achievements in the field of chemistry. The medal will be presented at an official ceremony, for example at the Society’s national conference or at an event organised by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. This is an award and not a scholarship (a regular study grant): no monetary prize is attached to the award.

Who can receive it

• Achievement: You have made outstanding contributions to scientific research in chemistry or a closely related field, or have carried out valuable work that benefits the Swedish Chemical Society.
• Field of study: Chemistry and its related sciences.
• Career stage: You are an established academic with an extensive body of work, not a student. The most recent prize winners are professors.
• Nationality: Applicants may be of any nationality. Scholarship holders are usually based at Swedish universities such as Chalmers, Lund and Uppsala.

How you are chosen

There is no open application process. The Swedish Chemical Society selects the candidates itself and nominates them in accordance with the Norblad Foundation’s regulations. The medal is awarded approximately once a year, though not every year.

How realistic are your chances?

It is a one-off, prestigious award presented to a single individual selected from among leading chemical researchers. One cannot apply for it, nor can one plan one’s career with it in mind. It is awarded in recognition of years of pioneering work and thus honours a long research career rather than an application submitted at just the right time.