York Chemistry researcher secures major fellowship and Lewis Penny Medal

Posted on Tuesday 13 January 2026

Dr. Marc Dickinson, from the Department of Chemistry at the University of York, has been awarded a highly competitive NERC Independent Research Fellowship, marking a major milestone in his early career and recognising his potential as an independent research leader. In addition, Marc has received the Lewis Penny Award from the Quaternary Research Association (QRA), which recognises outstanding early-career research and originality in scientific research covering the last 2.5 million years (the Quaternary). His work centres on enamel-based amino acid geochronology, an innovative technique that uses the way protein breaks down within fossil teeth for dating archaeological and geological sites. This research is improving the precision and reliability of Quaternary dating, with important implications for understanding long-term environmental and climatic change, as well as human evolution.

Together, the NERC fellowship and Lewis Penny Award highlight the significance, and future impact of Marc’s research, and underline his growing contribution to Quaternary science.

Marc said: “I am delighted to receive both the NERC Independent Research Fellowship and the Lewis Penny Award. The fellowship provides an invaluable opportunity to develop my research independently, while the QRA award is a real honour and recognition from the Quaternary research community.”