ACS ChemLuminary Awards open to international chemical sciences chapters

By February, leaders of American Chemical Society local sections, regional meetings, and international chemical sciences chapters will have submitted their annual reports of activities and events. These reports are used as a method of highlighting achievements and nominating groups for the annual ACS ChemLuminary Awards. These awards honor the best examples of programming in a range of categories that promote the importance of chemistry and the chemical sciences.

New for 2025, the Committee on International Activities (IAC), along with the Committee on Community Activities (CCA), will be honoring an international chemical sciences chapter with a 2025 ChemLuminary Award for an Outstanding Public Outreach Event by an International Chapter.

“IAC supports international chapters in meeting the ACS vision and mission to promote chemistry, and CCA is dedicated to supporting and celebrating chemistry outreach,” says Veronica Jaramillo, cochair of CCA’s volunteer engagement and recognition subcommittee.

Jaramillo believes it is important to recognize the global outreach activities that are occurring. “These events are promoting the importance of chemistry on a global scale,” she says.

The eligibility requirement for this award is twofold: recipients must be an international chemical sciences chapter and must have been a part of a chemistry outreach event.

“In the 10 years since expanding the Chemistry Festival program worldwide, ACS has witnessed an increase in chemistry outreach activities. ACS’s international chemical science chapters [ICSCs], along with international student chapters, have led the way to infuse one of ACS’s core values—passion for chemistry and the global chemistry enterprise—in advocacy and outreach,” says Michael B. McGinnis, chair of IAC. “This award will recognize the incredible volunteers and ICSCs that host outstanding public outreach events.”