The Partington Prize
The Partington Prize was established in memory of Professor James Riddick Partington, the Society's first Chairman. It is awarded every three years for an original and unpublished essay on any aspect of the history of alchemy or chemistry.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).
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.
The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry is delighted to announce that the winner of the 2023 Partington Prize is Dr Armel Cornu of the Science History Institute for her entry “Senses and utility in the New Chemistry."
Armel Cornu is a postdoctoral researcher funded by the Swedish Research Council and based at the University of Uppsala in Sweden and the ICT department in Paris. She obtained her doctorate at the University of Uppsala in 2022 with a dissertation titled: “Enlightening Water: Science, Market & Regulation of Mineral Waters in Eighteenth-century France,” before completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her research is characterised by a social and economic approach to the development of chemistry throughout the Enlightenment.
Prize Winners
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2023 Armel Cornu
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2020 Mike A. Zuber
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2017 Stephen T. Irish
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2014 Evan Hepler-Smith
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2011 Marcos Martinón-Torres
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2011 Dr Evan Ragland
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2008 Jennifer M. Rampling
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2008 Georgette Taylor
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2005 Dane T. Daniel
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1999 Tara E. Nummedal
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1993 Katherine D. Watson
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1990 Marco Beretta
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1987 Timothy D. Moy
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1984 T. M. Luhrmann
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1981 William Newman
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1978 Reinhard Löw
Please see this document for more information on which years the prizes were awarded. Past prize-winning essays can be viewed below.