Elsevier Announces Winners of the Reaxys PhD Prize 2019

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07 Oct, 2019, 16:23 GMT

Three young chemistry researchers recognized for their innovative and rigorous research

AMSTERDAM, Oct. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Elsevier, a global information analytics business specializing in science and health, announced the three winners of the 2019 Reaxys PhD Prize at the Reaxys PhD Prize Symposium held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Celebrating outstanding research by young chemists across the globe, the Reaxys PhD Prize recognizes innovative and rigorous research in chemistry and associated sciences. 2019 marks the Reaxys PhD Prize's ninth edition, which received almost 4,000 submissions from over 50 countries.

This image opens in the lightbox — Drs. Yujia Qing and Aaron Trowbridge collected their prize in-person at this year's Reaxys PhD Prize in Amsterdam over the weekend. Missing is Mr. Michael Geeson who gave his presentation remotely

Selected from 45 finalists, the 2019 Reaxys PhD Prize winners are:

Dr. Yujia Qing from the Bayley group, University of Oxford
Presentation title: Directional control of a processive molecular hopper
Dr. Aaron Trowbridge from the Gaunt group, University of Cambridge
Presentation title: Multicomponent synthesis of tertiary alkylamines by photocatalytic olefin-hydroaminoalkylation
Mr. Michael Geeson from the Cummins group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Presentation title: Phosphoric acid as a precursor to chemicals traditionally synthesized from white phosphorus.

The three winners each received a check of USD $2,000 and joined a private network of over 400 talented chemists from around the world, the Reaxys Prize Club.

Dr. Qing says it is important to recognize all of this year's finalists, not just the winners: "I feel that we are all winners because we have all experienced challenges in our research and managed to produce fundamentally interesting science. I am very flattered by the award and would like to share this honor with all my fellow finalists, who are passionate, innovative and talented scientists."

Dr. Trowbridge felt similarly honored and encouraged young scientists to enter future editions of the competition: "It is a great honor to have won this prestigious prize — one of the most sought-after awards in chemistry. The Reaxys PhD Prize Symposium allows you to meet the top chemists from around the world and provides a remarkable opportunity to communicate your research. For anyone that is unsure whether to enter, you have nothing to lose — the hard work, the research, is already done!"

Mr. Geeson was also humbled and honored, and said: "Winning the Reaxys PhD Prize is an amazing honor. The event features world-class science from 45 incredibly talented researchers, so it is very humbling to be one of three winners. This award is going to open many doors for me as a young researcher. I would encourage everyone to apply: it is a simple process and you never know how you might fare."

The winners were selected from 10 shortlisted finalists, who were challenged to present the key aspects of their research at the Symposium. The presentations were judged by all members of the Reaxys Advisory Board.

Read more about the Reaxys PhD Prize, this year's 45 finalists, and the Reaxys PhD Prize Symposium. Sign up to the Reaxys PhD Prize mailing list here to get all the latest news about the Reaxys PhD Prize in 2020.

About Reaxys

Reaxys empowers chemistry research and development by providing structure, property and reaction data, experimental procedures and literature. It is designed to support early drug discovery, education, material selection and synthesis planning; its capabilities include data export and integration to enable harmonized analysis of in-house and external data. Reaxys improves R&D productivity by delivering the facts the way chemists need them. www.elsevier.com/reaxys

Reaxys is a trade mark of RELX Intellectual Properties SA, used under license.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a global information analytics business that helps scientists and clinicians to find new answers, reshape human knowledge, and tackle the most urgent human crises. For 140 years, we have partnered with the research world to curate and verify scientific knowledge. Today, we're committed to bringing that rigor to a new generation of platforms. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and professional education; including ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, 39,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.elsevier.com