Previous Recipients of the Oesper Award
| Year | Awardee |
| 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) |