2025 ACS National Award winners: Part II

ACS Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution: Mark E. Bussell

Credit: Courtesy of Mark E. Bussell

Mark E. Bussell 

Sponsor: Research Corporation for Science Advancement

Citation: For outstanding accomplishments in the development of metal carbide, nitride, and phosphide catalysts for heteroatom removal reactions and for the involvement of undergraduate students in research

ACS Award for Team Innovation: Robert J. Conrado, Joss Coombes, Michael Köpke, Wayne P. Mitchell, and Séan D. Simpson

Sponsor: ACS Corporation Associates

Citation: For the development of LanzaTech’s innovative gas fermentation process for commercial-scale carbon recycling

What the team’s colleagues say: “This technical team developed a first-of-its-kind microbial gas fermentation process to recycle waste carbon-rich gases into useful chemical building blocks. The launch of the first commercial plant in 2018 marked the beginning of an era where a waste stream can be upcycled into new products without additional fossil resources.”—Michael C. Jewett, Stanford University

Robert J. Conrado

Current position: Chief technology officer, LanzaTech

Education: BE, biochemical engineering, Dartmouth College; PhD, biomolecular and chemical engineering, Cornell University

Joss Coombes

Credit: Courtesy of Joss Coombes

Joss Coombes

Current position: Distinguished engineer, LanzaTech

Education: BE, chemical and materials engineering, University of Auckland

Coombes on a memorable project: “It was working on the first demonstration-scale plant using LanzaTech’s gas fermentation process. The combination of a novel process, a major scale-up step, and an overseas project site made the challenges difficult but extremely satisfying to overcome.”

Michael Köpke

Credit: Courtesy of LanzaTech 

Michael Köpke 

Current position: Chief innovation officer, LanzaTech

Education: Diploma, biology, and PhD, microbiology and biotechnology, University of Ulm

Köpke on a proud career moment: “One of my proudest achievements is being part of a team that successfully commercialized a new technology. Of course, the moment we started up our first commercial unit comes to mind. But I also remember one day walking through the city and coming across multiple people wearing products made using our carbon recycling technology. That was when it really sunk in that it is real, after years of hearing ‘This idea will never work.’ ”

Wayne P. Mitchell

Credit: Courtesy of Wayne P. Mitchell 

Wayne P. Mitchell 

Current position: Distinguished scientist (retired), LanzaTech

Education: AB, history, Harvard University; BS, biology, University of Massachusetts; PhD, parasitology, University of California, Berkeley

Mitchell on his hopes for the future: “I want to explore and define the limits and possibilities of AI in the biology domain. This will require sustained effort to acquire and model appropriate data and the continuous testing and refinement of those emergent models through subsequent rounds of experiment.”

Séan D. Simpson

Credit: Courtesy of Séan D. Simpson

Séan D. Simpson 

Current position: Cofounder, LanzaTech

Education: BSc, process biotechnology, Teesside University; MS, molecular genetics, University of Nottingham; PhD, biological sciences, University of York

Simpson names his scientific hero: “James Lovelock. He proposed the Gaia hypothesis, a concept of the Earth, its atmospheric systems, and ecology as a self-regulating system. In such a system, there is no such thing as waste, as products from all living species become inputs to others. This theory emphasizes the need for industrial scientific innovation to improve people’s lives while maintaining balance within the atmospheric and ecological systems upon which all species depend.”

ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry: Purnendu K. Dasgupta

Credit: Courtesy of Purnendu K. Dasgupta

Purnendu K. Dasgupta

Sponsor: ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry

Citation: For contributions to novel analytical instrumentation and demonstrating their utility to improve health and nutrition

Current position: Hamish Small Chair in Ion Analysis, University of Texas at Arlington

Education: BSc, chemistry, and MSc, inorganic chemistry, University of Burdwan; PhD, analytical chemistry, Louisiana State University

Dasgupta on who inspired him to become a scientist: “My parents ignited and nurtured my love for science. Despite being of modest means, my father arranged for me to have a space for a chemistry lab in our home, and despite all the smells and other unpleasantness, my mother happily went with it. Few are so fortunate, and it’s unheard of where I come from.”

What Dasgupta’s colleagues say: “Sandy has influenced numerous analytical chemists through technological innovations in analytical instrumentation and methods. These have been adopted by researchers, analysts, and instrument manufacturers around the globe.”—Milton L. Lee, Brigham Young University

ACS Award in Colloid Chemistry: Norman J. Wagner

Credit: Courtesy of Norman J. Wagner

Norman J. Wagner.

Sponsor: Colgate-Palmolive

Citation: For outstanding scholarship and creative contributions to colloidal suspension and interface science, rheology, neutron scattering, and novel instrumentation, as well as service to the community

Current position: Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chair in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware

Education: BS, chemical engineering, Carnegie Mellon University; PhD, chemical engineering, Princeton University

Wagner on a memorable project: “Our work on shear thickening colloidal suspensions is exceptionally rich. Starting with fundamental National Science Foundation–funded research in my early career, we developed composites for personal protective materials that addressed needs of soldiers and civilians, such as body armor and puncture-resistant medical gloves. This evolved to a start-up where we continue to innovate with university researchers, industrial scientists, entrepreneurs, and NASA to find novel applications, including in advanced space suits for planetary exploration.”

What Wagner’s colleagues say: “Norm’s research combines state-of-the art experiments, computation, and theory to solve problems critical to the engineering of complex fluids. His work and mentoring have produced incredibly gifted and well-prepared students who have gone on to remarkably successful careers of their own.”—Eric W. Kaler, Case Western Reserve University

ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry: Mas Subramanian

Credit: Courtesy of Mas Subramanian

Mas Subramanian

Sponsor: MilliporeSigma

Citation: For the discovery of new functional solid-state inorganic materials with unique and useful properties and for transforming them into knowledge and practical applications

Current position: University Distinguished Professor and Milton Harris Chair of Materials Science, Oregon State University

Education: BS, chemistry, and MS, inorganic chemistry, University of Madras; PhD, inorganic solid-state chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Subramanian on a memorable project: “Fifteen years ago, while researching inorganic materials for electronics, we serendipitously discovered an intense inorganic blue pigment now called YInMn Blue. It has unprecedented near-infrared reflecting properties that are potentially useful in energy-saving paints. This discovery startled the world. It was the first durable inorganic blue pigment discovered in 2 centuries. I am still baffled as to why these pigments are so intensely colored and why no one had thought about this chemistry before.”

What Subramanian’s colleagues say: “Mas is an international leader in the discovery of new classes of inorganic materials and new chemical approaches of significant technological importance. These scientific advances span the breadth of science—from superconductors to colossal dielectrics, to aromatic fluorinations, to new inorganic pigments.”—Michael M. Lerner, Oregon State University

ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry: Robert H. Morris

Credit: Courtesy of Robert H. Morris

Robert H. Morris

Sponsor: Dow

Citation: For significantly advancing our understanding of transition metal hydrides and dihydrogen complexes and the roles they play in catalytic organometallic reactions

Current position: Professor of chemistry, University of Toronto

Education: BSc, chemistry, University of Waterloo; PhD, inorganic chemistry, University of British Columbia

Morris on his scientific hero: “It is Nobel Laureate John Polanyi for his eloquent support of fundamental research and of Canada’s peaceful stance on nuclear weapons.”

What Morris’s colleagues say:“Robert has significantly advanced the organometallic chemistry of hydrides and homogeneous catalysis and is a recognized leader in the field of homogeneous catalysis based on abundant metals.”—Robert Batey, University of Toronto

ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry: Michael Rubinstein

Credit: Courtesy of Michael Rubinstein

Michael Rubinstein

Sponsor: ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering

Citation: For leadership in the field of theoretical modeling of polymeric liquids and networks, including charged and associative polymers, entanglement effects, and applications to biopolymers

Current position: Aleksander S. Vesić Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University

Education: BS, physics, California Institute of Technology; MS, physics, and PhD, physics, Harvard University

Rubinstein on a memorable project: “It is the Virtual Lung Project. We discovered how fundamental polymer science can help explain the function of the airway surface layer of lungs, in collaboration with medical doctors, mathematicians, biomedical engineers, physicists, chemists, and biologists. We could understand how mucociliary clearance works in health and how it fails in disease. Participating in the conceptual development of treatments of airway diseases based on polymer physics and chemistry was, and continues to be, extremely rewarding.”

What Rubinstein’s colleagues say:“Michael has made extraordinary contributions to the field of polymer physics. His work opened the door for new areas in polymer science and changed the way we think about polymers.”—Eugenia Kumacheva, University of Toronto

ACS Award in Pure Chemistry: Timothy C. Berkelbach

Credit: Courtesy of Timothy C. Berkelbach

Timothy C. Berkelbach

Sponsor: Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity and Alpha Chi Sigma Educational Foundation

Citation: For outstanding contributions to the theory and simulation of the electronic properties of solid-state materials

Current position: Professor of chemistry, Columbia University, and senior research scientist and codirector of the Initiative for Computational Catalysis, Flatiron Institute

Education: BA, chemistry and physics, New York University; PhD, chemical physics, Columbia University

Berkelbach on who inspired him to become a scientist: “Many people played important roles in supporting me to become a scientist, but my excellent high school chemistry teacher, Mark Keagy, deserves a special mention. Before taking his class, I had been struggling with math and science and was preparing my portfolio for applications to art schools. Only after his class did I seriously consider a career in science.”

What Berkelbach’s colleagues say: “Tim is highly regarded in our community. What makes him unique is the breadth and depth of topics he masters and the beauty and novelty of his methods and applications.”—Eran Rabani, University of California, Berkeley

ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials: Mercouri G. Kanatzidis

Credit: Courtesy of Mercouri G. Kanatzidis

Mercouri G. Kanatzidis

Sponsor: DuPont

Citation: For groundbreaking contributions to the development of halide perovskite materials for advancing solar cell and optoelectronic applications, and for mentoring future scientists

Current position: Professor of chemistry, Northwestern University

Education: BS, chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; PhD, chemistry, University of Iowa

Kanatzidis on a memorable project: “It is the perovskite project that we started in 2008. We faced numerous challenges, but the vision of creating a high-efficiency, solid-state solar cell kept us pushing forward. In May 2012, we published the first demonstration of a solid perovskite–based Grätzel cell, achieving over 10% efficiency. This project opened the door to what has become one of the most exciting fields in renewable energy, with perovskite solar cells continuously breaking efficiency records.”

What Kanatzidis’s colleagues say: “The research Mercouri directs is defined by remarkable breadth, vision, and boldness. His deep insights into synthesis, chemistry, structure, and bonding, coupled with enviable productivity have led to several key research successes.”—Ram Seshadri, University of California, Santa Barbara

Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology: Tony F. Heinz

Sponsor: Endowed fund established by the Newport Corporation

Citation: For the groundbreaking application of ultrafast nonlinear optical methods to the study of electronic structure and electron dynamics in solids, surfaces, and low-dimensional materials

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