Previous Recipients of the Oesper Award
| Year | Awardee | 
| 2023 | Miguel Garcia-Garibay | 
| 2022 | Martin Moskovits | 
| 2021 | James M. Tour | 
| 2020 | Nicholas A. Peppas | 
| 2019 | R. Mark Wightman | 
| 2018 | Dave Thirumalai | 
| 2017 | Matthew Platz | 
| 2016 | Maurice Brookhart | 
| 2015 | Karen L. Wooley | 
| 2014 | Isiah M. Warner | 
| 2013 | Richard Eisenberg | 
| 2012 | Gary Hieftje | 
| 2011 | Charles P. Casey | 
| 2010 | Kurt Wüthrich (Nobel, 2002) | 
| 2009 | Susan Lindquist | 
| 2008 | Alan G. Marshall | 
| 2007 | James P. Collman | 
| 2006 | Richard N. Zare | 
| 2005 | V. Adrian Parsegian | 
| 2004 | George M. Whitesides | 
| 2003 | Alan G. MacDiarmid (Nobel, 2000) | 
| 2002 | Royce W. Murray | 
| 2001 | Harry B. Gray | 
| 2000 | Mildred Cohn | 
| 1999 | George Hammond | 
| 1998 | Jerome A. Berson | 
| 1997 | Rudolph A. Marcus (Nobel, 1992) | 
| 1996 | Ralph N. Adams | 
| 1995 | Gregory R. Choppin | 
| 1994 | Klaus Biemann | 
| 1993 | James D. Winefordner | 
| 1992 | Walter H. Stockmayer | 
| 1991 | Derek H. A. Barton (Nobel, 1969) | 
| 1990 | Herbert C. Brown (Nobel, 1979) | 
| 1989 | Allen J. Bard | 
| 1988 | Konrad E. Bloch (Nobel, 1964; Medicine) | 
| 1987 | George C. Pimentel | 
| 1986 | Henry Taube (Nobel, 1983) | 
| 1985 | Fred McLafferty | 
| 1984 | John A. Pople (Nobel, 1998) | 
| 1983 | Fred Basolo | 
| 1982 | John C. Sheehan | 
| 1981 | Melvin Calvin (Nobel, 1961) |