Charles Roger Slack FRS FRSNZ (22 April 1937 – 24 October 2016) was a British-born plant biologist and biochemist who lived and worked in Australia (1962–1970) and New Zealand (1970–2000).

[1] He studied biochemistry at the University of Nottingham, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in 1958, and a PhD in 1962.

[1] From 1962, Slack worked as a biochemist at the David North Plant Research Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (funded by the Colonial Sugar Refining Co.

The award is made to society members to recognise an outstanding contribution to the study of plant biology.

It was renamed in recognition of his outstanding contribution as a plant biologist and biochemist in New Zealand, his role in the discovery of C4 photosynthesis (also known as the Hatch Slack Pathway), and his contribution as an early member of the New Zealand Society of Plant Biologists.