The Society: Derek Price/Rod Webster Prize
The award is given in recognition of excellence in a research article published in Isis. Eligible articles are those published in issues of Isis three years prior to the year in which the award is given (i.e., the calendar year in which the award is given is not included). The prize may not be split between two articles. Deadline 1 April of each year.
History of the Prize
The Price/Webster prize began life as Zeitlin-Ver Brugge Prize in 1979. The announcement on the inside back cover of Isis, March 1979, vol. 70. stated, "The History of Science Society announces the establishment of a new prize to encourage the publication in Isis of original research of the highest standard... to the author of the best article in Isis...." The announcement included the information that the first prize would be awarded in 1981, which was incorrect. June 1979 issue of Isis corrected the announcement and gave further information on the prize, as follows.
Zeitlin-Ver Brugge Prize
The History of Science Society announces the sponsorship, through the generosity of Jacob Zeitlin and Josephine Ver Brugge of Los Angeles [booksellers who were big supporters of the HSS], of its new prize to encourage the publication in Isis of original research of the highest standard. Consisting of $250 and a certificate, this prize will be given annually, on the recommendation of the Committee on Isis, to the author of the best article in Isis in the three years prior to the year of the award. It is expected that the first award will take place in 1979, and articles published in Isis between March 1976 and December 1978, inclusive, will be eligible for the prize.
The first prize was awarded in 1979 to Robert Nye for "Heredity or Milieu: The Foundations of European Criminological Theory," published in Isis in 1976. The prize was later renamed the Derek Price Award and the announcement of the change appeared in the March 1989 issue of Isis.
Derek Price Award
1979-1987: Zeitlin-Ver Brugge Prize
The History of Science Society announces the sponsorship, through the generosity of an anonymous donor, of its prize to encourage the publication in Isis of original research of the highest standard. Consisting of $250 and a certificate, this prize (formerly the Zeitlin-Ver Brugge Prize) is given annually to the author of an outstanding article in Isis in the three years prior to the award.
The anonymous donors turned out to be Rod and Marjorie Webster. Marjorie Webster further endowed the prize in 2002 after Rod Webster died, asking that it be named in part for him, thus the change to the Derek Price/Rod Webster Prize.
Prize Committee Members:
- Katharine Anderson, (Chair) 2011-2013
- Alan Rocke, 2012-2014
- Zuoyue Wang, 2013-2015
All eligible articles are automatically nominated for this prize.