Monash University Professor Cameron Jones was surprised to discover he has won the Royal Society of Chemistry 's coveted Frankland Award, thus joining an elite field of international scientists.
The award recognises outstanding contributions to pure and applied research in organometallic chemistry or coordination chemistry.
Professor Jones admits he was surprised at having won the award, given the nature of its global status.
"It was a great and unexpected honour for me, especially given this award is open to inorganic chemists from across the globe," he said.
When Professor Jones looked at the list of previous winners of the Frankland Award, he was impressed to see all the 'giants' of the field who have helped shape its direction over the past 30 years.
"Being added to that list is nothing short of humbling. Although Australia has a very strong tradition of organometallic chemistry, when I returned to the country in 2007 my plan was to introduce a new subarea of this field that was rapidly emerging in Europe and North America.
"I think we have succeeded in that goal, and this international recognition of our efforts will only help the further development of our research ambitions into the future," he said.
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is the world's leading chemistry community, advancing excellence in the chemical sciences. With 49,000 members and a knowledge business spanning the globe, RSC is the world's oldest and most notable professional body for chemical scientists.
Professor Jones arrived at Monash in 2007 as an Australian Professional Research fellow. He began his career after receiving his BSc(Hons) degree from the University of WA before completing his PhD at Griffith University, Queensland. This was followed by postdoctoral work at Sussex University and was not long appointed a lecturer at the University of Wales, Swansea. He was then appointed a Readership at Cardiff University in 1998 before being promoted to Personal Chair in 2002.
The Frankland Award is not Professor Jones' first international award. It follows a litany of awards including the Main Group Chemistry Prize of the RSC, UK, Senior Research prize of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Burrows Award.
Most recently, in November last year, he was awarded the HG Smith Memorial Medal of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute – the highest research award given by the national body.
"Winning such high profile awards as the HG Smith Memorial Medal highlights a national recognition of our research, while the international recognition that comes with the Frankland Award further adds to that recognition on an international level."