Struchkov Prize moves to the IUCr

The IUCr Executive Committee has just established the Struchkov Prize to promote excellence in structural science and to recognize young talented individuals working in the field of small-molecule crystallography. The Prize honors the memory of the prominent Russian scholar and crystallographer Yuri T. Struchkov. The Prize consists of a certificate and monetary award that will be granted to three individuals on a triennial basis during the IUCr Congress years.

Yuri T. Struchkov (1926–1995) was an outstanding Russian crystallographer who made substantial contributions to the structural chemistry of organic and organometallic compounds. He started his career in the early years of structural studies of organic solids and was perhaps the most vocal champion of this field in the USSR and Russia. He then became the founder and long-time director of the X-Ray Structural Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, one of the most productive laboratories in the field of “small molecule” organic crystallography in the world in the last decades of the 20th century. His achievements were highly appreciated by the international crystallographic community: at the XV IUCr Congress and General Assembly in Bordeaux, France, in 1990 he became a member of the IUCr Executive Committee and at the next Congress in Beijing, China, in 1993 he was elected Vice-President of the IUCr. He did not complete his term as Vice-President; his untimely death came as a consequence of an unsuccessful heart surgery in August 1995.

To commemorate Professor Struchkov’s life achievements, his friends and former colleagues established the Struchkov Prize, which has been awarded to young scientists from the former Soviet Union for the best research work in the field of X-ray crystallography every year between 1997 and 2020. Since the inception of the Prize, 24 Struchkov competitions have been held and more than 30 top and 50 secondary prizes have been awarded. The Prize was funded by donations from former colleagues and students of Professor Struchkov, researchers who knew him personally, colleagues closely familiar with his scientific achievements and contributions to the organization and development of chemical crystallography in Russia, as well as by private companies. Over time, the annual prize purse of the Struchkov competition has increased substantially, from USD 500 in 1997 to more than USD 5000 in 2020. Importantly, 100% of all contributions were annually awarded to the laureates of the Struchkov Prize competition.

As the Struchkov Prize gradually became a regular and familiar feature of the Russian crystallographic landscape, it provided name recognition to many young researchers at the beginning of their professional careers. Many winners and laureates of the earlier Struchkov competitions matured to become prominent scientists and highly regarded members of crystallographic community in their own right. The Prize has been the subject of three IUCr Newsletter publications: IUCr Newsletter (2000), 8(4), 18; IUCr Newsletter (2007), 15(3), 17; and IUCr Newsletter (2019). 27(2), 22.

In the spring of 2020, the organizers and supporters of the Struchkov Prize decided to explore the possibility of bringing the Prize to the international stage and reached out to the IUCr President Sven Lidin and the other Executive Committee members, asking if the IUCr would consider incorporating the Struchkov Prize into the growing family of prestigious awards administered by the Union. We were delighted to receive a positive decision and are very thankful to the Union’s highest officers’ warm and welcoming attitude.

The Struchkov Prize transition from being a Russia-based prize to an international prize is congruent with the international nature of scientific work and multi-national collaborations. While the Prize was established in 1997 to recognize young Russian small-molecule crystallographers and researchers working in related fields, we felt that as a global award the Prize would also reflect Professor Struchkov’s life-long conviction that crystallography, just as any other science, should represent joint international effort. Whereas he lived most of his life in a closed and highly prejudiced society, he relentlessly fought for universal integration and openness of the science in the USSR in spite of substantial risks to his career. Therefore, we believe that Professor Struchkov himself would have approved the decision to seek acceptance of the Struchkov Prize as one of the IUCr awards.

Additional information about the Struchkov Prize, including details of the nomination process and how to donate to the funding for the Prize, is available here.

We encourage you to consider nominating your young colleagues (or yourself) for the IUCr Struchkov Prize.