Two prestigious awards for UWC Extraordinary Chemistry Professor

Professor Dudley Shallcross does UWC proud.

It is with great pleasure that we recognise two recent achievements of Prof Dudley Shallcross, Professor of Physical Chemistry in the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol in the UK, and Extraordinary Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Western Cape.

Firstly, in July 2020 he became the President of the Education Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK and will hold this role for the next three years.  Prof Shallcross is keen to see the Royal Society of Chemistry continue its support of chemical education across the whole learning landscape and support teachers at all education levels. 

Prof Shallcross has pioneered virtual laboratory environments as a tool to support and not replace practical work through his work as a co-Director of Bristol ChemLabS, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Bristol. 

Dean of Natural Sciences, and Professor Shallcross’ research collaborator at UWC, Professor Mike Davies-Coleman commented: “We greatly value the important contribution our Extraordinary Professors make to our academic programme and we were very pleased to hear of Dudley’s recent awards.  UWC has been the direct beneficiary of his expertise and experience in atmospheric chemistry research and in the area of virtual laboratory environments. In 2019 he was instrumental in assisting UWC’s Faculty of Natural Sciences enter into a virtual laboratory partnership with Learning Science UK.  This exciting partnership has been of immense benefit to the laboratory-based sciences at UWC during the COVID-19 pandemic.  It is clear from our recent experiences that virtual environments will play a vital role in the coming years, as we deal with COVID-19 and its aftermath.” 

Secondly, last month, Prof Shallcross was awarded the American Chemical Society’s’ 2021 George C. Pimental award in Chemical Education. The George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education recognizes “outstanding contributions to chemical education” and is awarded annually by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and sponsored by Cengage Learning and the ACS Division of Chemical Education. George C. Pimentel was an American chemist and chemical educator who taught at the University of California, Berkeley. The illustrious list of past awardees include three Nobel Prize winners (Pauling, Hoffmann and Seaborg). 

The award citation reads: ‘For innovative contributions to the teaching of Chemistry (Science) from Elementary School to Postgraduate study and in promoting Chemistry to prospective students and the public.’ 

Prof Shallcross will receive the award in March 2021 at the ACS meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

Prof Shallcross is a strong promoter of the chemical sciences, not only in the UK but also in South Africa, and is keen to see the subject recognised for its positive contributions to the enhancement of life and the sustainability of the planet.  In 2015 the Royal Society of South Africa recognised Professor Shallcross’ contribution to chemical education and chemistry outreach in South Africa through his election as a Fellow of the Society.

Source: UWC