The Department has a distinguished history of scientific discovery, with several members of our community receiving Nobel Prizes in recognition of their contributions to chemistry and related fields.

Among them are Sir Derek Barton and Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson, both of whom studied at Imperial, completing their BSc and PhD degrees here before going on to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Imperial Nobel Prize Winners

Sir Derek Barton

Sir Derek Barton
1918 - 1996 Received a Nobel Prize in 1969 for organic conformational analysis.

Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson

Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson
1921 - 1996 Received his Nobel Prize in 1973 for organometallic chemistry.

Other winners associated with the Department

Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins

Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins
1861 - 1947 Received a Nobel Prize in 1929 for his discovery of growth-stimulating vitamins.

Sir Norman Haworth

Sir Norman Haworth
1883 - 1990 Received his Nobel Prize in 1937 for his investigations on carbohydrates and vitamin C.

Sir Cyril Hinshelwood

Sir Cyril Hinshelwood
1897 - 1967 Received a Nobel Prize in 1956 for mechanisms of chemical reactions

Lord George Porter

Lord George Porter
1920 - 2002 Received his Nobel Prize in 1967 for very fast chemical reactions.

Over the years, many members of Imperial Chemistry have served as Presidents of the Royal Society of Chemistry, including Professor Tom Welton from 2020 to 2022, reflecting the Department's longstanding contribution to the chemical sciences profession.

The Department's scientific legacy is commemorated through a number of plaques and memorials:

  • An RSC Landmark Plaque at 299 Oxford Street, the former home of the Royal College of Chemistry.
  • RSC blue plaques honouring Sir Derek Barton, Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson and Lord Porter, located beside the main entrance to the Chemistry Building in South Kensington.
  • A London blue plaque at 9 Fitzroy Square, marking the former home of August Wilhelm Hofmann, the Royal College of Chemistry's first Professor of Chemistry.