Launching in 2025, the Early Career award offers the opportunity to recognise the contributions of our early career members' enthusiasm, dedication, and service during their membership with SCI.
This year's winner is Ollie Ring for his exceptional service to the Young Chemists' panel and his dedication to SCI's early careers programme. Ollie will receive his award at SCI's AGM on 2 July 2025
Read Ollie's interview below:
When and why did you become a member of SCI?
I first became a member of the SCI back in 2019, initially to gain access to conference discounts and networking opportunities with like-minded chemists. This subsequently grew into me joining event organising committees including the Fine Chemicals Group and Young Chemists’ Panel.
Why did you decide to get involved in committee work?
When joining the Young Chemists’ Panel I really enjoyed organising conferences and events with a diverse group of energetic chemists with different experiences and backgrounds. I was inspired by my peers and was subsequently selected to take on the chair position from 2020-2023. Here I coordinated a team of 40+ academic and industrial chemists in organising 30 conferences and events which I thoroughly enjoyed and learnt a lot from. I’m most proud of the groups work on sustainability and green chemistry as well as new events focused on supporting undergraduates, apprentices and industrial placement students.
How has being involved in SCI activities had an impact on your professional career?
Being involved in the SCI has enabled me to build my network. This has opened academic collaborations, enabled me to work, travel and present at conferences abroad as well as opened opportunities outside of my organisation.
How do your SCI activities reflect your personal/professional interests?
SCI’s vision and goal is to interface the academic and industrial chemistry communities together for the better of society. Working to develop tailored conferences, workshops and events which knit these communities together is something I have really enjoyed being part of. I hope this has encouraged us to learn from one another and make a difference to how we approach chemistry problems from a theoretical and practical perspective.
What advice would you give to Early career individuals joining the society?
Don’t hesitate, be proactive and take charge of your career. Throw everything you have at every opportunity. Every small opportunity is a stepping stone to a bigger one, you never know which of these will be “your big break” which has the potential to really impact and shape your career trajectory. Build your visibility and grow your network, you never know when you might need to call upon them for support and guidance.
What are your thoughts about receiving an Early Career Award?
I’m delighted to have been selected as a recipient of the 2025 SCI early career award. I’m really grateful to those individuals who nominated me and to all my colleagues and mentors who have helped me throughout my career. The SCI is a phenomenal platform to help you achieve all of your goals, I would not be where I am today without the opportunities and support SCI has given me over the years.
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