NEUCHATEL, Switzerland, October 4, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Elsevier Properties SA today congratulated its Research and Development Director, Professor Dr. Alexander (Sandy) Lawson, for receiving the 2011 Herman Skolnik Award. Presented by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Chemical Information (CINF), the award recognizes outstanding contributions to and achievements in the theory and practice of chemical information science and related disciplines. The prize consists of a $3,000 honorarium and a plaque, which Sandy will receive following a symposium scheduled for the ACS Fall National Meeting in Denver, Aug. 28-Sept. 1, 2011, during the International Year of Chemistry. Sandy will also be one of the symposium presenters.

Phil McHale, D.Phil., Chair of the CINF Awards Committee, said of the award, Sandy Lawson has contributed so much to cheminformatics; the tools and databases with which he has been (and is still) involved are in daily use by thousands of scientists. Sandy is widely respected throughout the cheminformatics community as a thought leader and a colleague, and he is a most deserving recipient of this award.

Sandy spearheads the innovation and development efforts in the area of cheminformatics at Elsevier Properties SA. He works closely with the Reaxys(R) database and software development teams based at Elsevier Information Systems in Frankfurt; and is instrumental in developing new analysis techniques and functionality for Reaxys (R).

Phil Mestecky, Managing Director Elsevier Properties SA, said, Sandy's passion for chemistry is clear from the first moment you meet him. This passion combined with his sharp intelligence and insight in to the mind of a research chemist have helped him guide and develop some truly outstanding software and database tools including both the CrossFire suite and Reaxys. However, if you asked Sandy he'll tell you his greatest pieces of work are the last one and the next one. I have been privileged to work with Sandy over the last four years initially at Elsevier Information Systems in Frankfurt and latterly at Elsevier Properties SA in Switzerland. The Skolnik Award is a great honor for Sandy, one he truly deserves, and I know that it will inspire him to even greater endeavors.

About Elsevier Properties SA

Elsevier Properties SA is a center of excellence within Reed Elsevier for the management of intellectual property. Elsevier Properties SA owns the PharmaPendium, and Reaxys databases. Trademarks including Reaxys(R), PharmaPendium(TM), SciVal(TM) and The Lancet(R) are owned and protected by Elsevier Properties SA and used under license. For additional information see http://www.reedelsevier.com.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet (http://www.thelancet.com/) and Cell (http://www.cell.com/), and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), SciVerse Scopus (http://www.scopus.com/home.url), Reaxys (https://www.reaxys.com/), MD Consult (http://www.mdconsult.com/) and Nursing Consult ( http://www.nursingconsult.com/), which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite (http://www.scival.com/) and MEDai's Pinpoint Review (http://www.medai.com/), which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier ( http://www.elsevier.com/) employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact Harald Boersma Senior Manager, Corporate Relations, Elsevier H.Boersma@elsevier.com +31-20-485-27-36

SOURCE: Elsevier Properties SA and Elsevier

CONTACT: Media contact: Harald Boersma, Senior Manager, CorporateRelations, Elsevier, H.Boersma@elsevier.com, +31-20-485-27-36