Analyst, August 1996, Vol. 121 125N RSC Sponsored Awards Three analytical chemists were among the thirteen or so recipients of awards presented by Professor Edward Abel, President of The Royal Society of Chemistry, at the Society’s headquarters in Burlington House in London. Professor Malcolm Smyth, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Paramedical Studies at Dublin City University, won the RSC award for Chemical Analysis and Instrumentation, sponsored by Perkin-Elmer Ltd. He was commended for his work in electroanalysis and separations, and their application to systems of biological and biomedical interest. Professor Smyth is, of course, one of the new group of Scientific Editors for the Analytical Journals and also serves on the Analytical Editorial Board. Professor Duncan Thorburn Burns, Queens University, Belfast, won the RSC award for Tertiary Education, sponsored by ICI plc, for advancing the standard of chemistry teaching in higher education in the UK.In the late 1960s, while at Loughborough University, Professor Thorburn Burns set up one of the first taught MSc courses for analytical chemistry in the UK, the syllabus for which has since served as a model for many other UK MSc courses. Professor Thorburn Burns has also played an active role in maintaining the high standard of science education in Northern Ireland for over twenty years. From 1977-92, he was a member of the Northern Ireland Department for Education’s Advisory Board for Postgraduate Awards, a body which, at that time, allocated research funding, controlled the number of available postgraduate places, and ensured the standards for taught Masters courses.The Royal Society of Chemistry plays an important role in shaping chemistry educational policy in the UK, and Professor Thorburn Burns has been active as a former Chairman and L to R: Peter Cobb (who also received an award for services to the Society), Professor Edward Abel (RSC President), Professor Malcolm Smyth and Professor Duncan Thorburn Burns. Secretary of the Education and Training Group of the Society’s Analytical Division. An expert in forensic analytical chemistry, Professor Thorburn Burns’ view of the scientific evidence in the ‘Maguire Seven’ case was a major factor in the quashing of their convictions in 1981 by the Court of Appeal. Professor Mike Blades of the University of British Columbia, Canada, was honoured with the Analytical Spectroscopy award, sponsored by AT1 Unicam, for his many contributions to spectroscopy, in particular his fundamental studies on and applications of several plasma sources for atomic emission spectrometry. Professor Blades is a member of the Advisory Board for the RSC’s Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry (JAAS).