Awards

John Ross Selected For Richards Medal

John Ross, Camille & Henry Dreyfus Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Stanford University, has been selected to receive the 2004 Theodore William Richards Medal.

The award is given every two years by the ACS Northeastern Section for conspicuous achievement in chemistry. It consists of a silver medal for display and a gold medal. The award will be presented to Ross on March 11 at Harvard University.

Ross has made seminal contributions to the theoretical and experimental study of chemical kinetics in complex reaction systems. He has received a number of honors, including the National Medal of Science, the ACS Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry, and Austria's Cross of Honor for Science & Art, First Class. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Ross received a B.S. from Queens College, New York City, in 1948 and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1951. After serving a postdoctoral fellowship for a year at Yale University, Ross joined the chemistry faculty at Brown University. In 1966, Ross moved to MIT, where he served several stints as head of the chemistry department. In 1980, he moved to Stanford University, where he remained until he retired in 2001.

Mark Award To Balazs

Endre A. Balazs received the Third Herman F. Mark Technology Medal on Dec. 9, 2003. The prize, given by the Polymer Research Institute of Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, N.Y., recognizes a scholar, scientist, or researcher who has strengthened the collaboration between industry and academia in the field of polymer science and engineering.

Balazs received an M.D. in 1942 from the University of Budapest Medical School, Hungary, where his early research focused on the intercellular matrix and the matrix polysaccharide hyaluronan.

In 1951, he moved to the U.S. to organize the research laboratories of the Retina Foundation, Boston. For the next 25 years, Balazs combined research, teaching, and advising medical students and served first as research director and later as president of the foundation. In 1970, Balazs became the first director of the Boston Biomedical Research Institute.

Balazs founded Biotrics in 1968 to develop methods of production and medical applications for ultrapure hyaluronan. And in 1981, Balazs founded Biomatrix with his wife, Janet Denlinger, and served as chief executive officer and chief scientific officer there for 20 years. The companies developed a number of applications for hyaluronan and its derivatives, including ophthalmic use and treatment of pain in osteoarthritis.

Balazs moved to New York City in 1975 to become Malcolm P. Aldrich Research Professor of Ophthalmology and director of eye research at the College of Physicians & Surgeons at Columbia University, where he continued research on hyaluronan. He and Denlinger also established the nonprofit Matrix Biology Institute to provide further support for hyaluronan research.

Tess Coatings Award To Nalamasu

Omkaram (OM) Nalamasu, director of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Center for Integrated Electronics, Troy, N.Y., has been selected to receive the 2004 Roy W. Tess Award in Coatings of the ACS Division of Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering. The award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding contributions to coatings science and technology. Nalamasu will receive the Tess Award on Aug. 23 during the 228th ACS national meeting in Philadelphia.

Nalamasu developed key concepts related to the chemically amplified photoresist process and novel resist materials and processes. Nalamasu applied his research to the implementation of both 248-nm and 193-nm photoresist technologies. Applications for his work include computer chip fabrication.

In 2003, Nalamasu received the New York State Office of Science, Technology & Academic Research Distinguished Professor Award consisting of a $1 million research grant. In 2000, he was honored with the ACS Award for Team Innovation for the invention and innovation of 193-nm resist materials. In 1998, he was a recipient of Japan's Photopolymer Science & Technology Award.

Nalamasu earned a doctorate in chemistry in 1986 from the University of British Columbia, a master's in chemistry from the University of Hyderabad, in India, and a bachelor's degree from Osmania University, in Hyderabad.

Midwest Award Nominations

The ACS St. Louis section is soliciting nominations for its 2004 Midwest Award. The section established the award in 1944 to publicly recognize outstanding achievements in chemistry made in the Midwest; the prize consists of a medallion and cash honorarium.

Nominees may be from industry, academia, government, or private practice and need not be members of ACS; they should have made meritorious contributions to the advancement of pure or applied chemistry, chemical education, and the profession of chemistry. These contributions must have been made during a period of residence in the geographic area defined by the territories of the local sections that participate in the Midwest Regional Meeting of ACS.

Nominations consist of a nominating letter; two or more seconding letters; a curriculum vitae; a brief biography; documented and objective information regarding the outstanding achievements of the nominee; and, if the nominee is an academician, a list of people who have received advanced degrees under his or her direction.

Submit nine copies of all nomination materials to Jim O'Brien, Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, St. Louis, 8001 Natural Bridge Rd., St. Louis, MO 63121-4499. All materials must be received on or before March 31. Inquiries can be made to obrien@jinx.umsl.edu or (314) 516-5717.

Nominations For Geochemistry Medal

Nominations are sought for the ACS Geochemistry Division Medal. The medal is awarded biennially for outstanding accomplishment in the field. The award consists of a bronze medallion plus $2,000. The medal will be presented at the 229th ACS national meeting, to be held in San Diego, March 13­17, 2005.

Letters of nomination and supporting materials should be sent to George W. Luther III, Chair, GEOC Medal Committee, College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, 700 Pilottown Rd., Lewes, DE 19958; (302) 645-4208, e-mail: luther@udel.edu. The deadline is June 1.

Nominations should include a detailed description of the nominee's outstanding accomplishments; relevant citations; and, at the discretion of the nominator, any other supporting information. Two letters from individuals other than the primary nominator are requested but not required. See more at the division's website: http://membership.acs.org/g/geoc.

Academy Honors Science Contributions

The national academy of sciences (NAS) has selected five chemical scientists among 16 individuals to receive awards honoring their outstanding scientific achievements. The awards will be presented on April 19 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The Alexander Hollaender Award in Biophysics--a prize of $20,000 awarded every three years for excellence in biophysics--goes to Carlos J. Bustamante, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor, department of physics, University of California, Berkeley. Bustamante was chosen "for his ingenious use of atomic force microscopy and laser tweezers to study the biophysical properties of proteins, DNA, and RNA, one molecule at a time."

The NAS Award in Chemical Sciences--a medal and prize of $15,000 awarded annually for innovative research in the chemical sciences that, in the broadest sense, contributes to a better understanding of the natural sciences and to the benefit of humanity--goes to Robert G. Parr, Wassily Hoeffding Professor of Chemical Physics, department of chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Parr was chosen "for being a pioneer, leader, and central figure in the development of density functional theory in chemistry and for his deep insights into quantum chemical calculations."

The NAS Award for Initiatives in Research--a prize of $15,000 awarded annually in a field supporting information technology (condensed matter/materials science in 2004) to recognize innovative young scientists and to encourage research likely to lead toward new capabilities for human benefit--goes to Yoel Fink, Thomas B. King Assistant Professor of Materials Science, department of materials science and engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Fink was chosen "for his pioneering contributions and ingenuity in the creative design and development of photonic materials and devices."

The NAS Award in Molecular Biology--a medal and a prize of $25,000 awarded annually for a recent notable discovery in molecular biology by a young scientist--goes to Xiaodong Wang, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, George L. MacGregor Distinguished Chair, and professor in the department of biochemistry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. He was chosen "for his biochemical studies of apoptosis, which have resolved a molecular pathway leading in and out of the mitochondrion."

The NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing--a prize of $10,000 awarded annually for excellence in scientific reviewing within the past 10 years--goes to Donald G. Truhlar, Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Chemical Physics & Scientific Computation; Lloyd H. Reyerson Professor of Chemistry; and director of the Supercomputing Institute at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Truhlar was chosen "for his incisive reviews on transition-state theory, potential energy surfaces, quantum scattering theory, and solvation models, which have informed and enlightened the chemical physics community for a generation."

Special Recognition

Nancy B. Jackson, manager of chemical and biological sensing imaging and analysis at Sandia National Laboratories and member of the ACS Board of Directors, will receive a Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., during the school's May commencement ceremony.

Cecilia Sehr, a teacher at Bishop Lynch High School, Dallas, has received the 2004 Werner Schulz Award for Outstanding High School Chemistry Teachers. The award, given by the ACS Dallas-Fort Worth Section, consists of $1,000 and a pair of plaques. Sehr received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Dominican University, River Forest, Ill., in 1965 and also holds an M.A.T. degree from Harvard University; an M.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.; and an Ed.D. from East Texas State University.

Lesley Davenport, professor of chemistry at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, has received an Outstanding Women Scientists Award from the New York Academy of Sciences. She holds a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, and a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on the application of fluorescence methods to investigating the structure and dynamics of biological self-assembled systems.

Donald Kelsey, a research chemist at Shell Chemicals, Houston, was named 2003 Texas Inventor of the Year. He won the award for his groundbreaking work in developing polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) polymers that are used in carpets and textiles. Kelsey's prolific research into PTT has resulted in 11 patents since 1994. The award is presented by the Texas Bar's Intellectual Property Law section.

Robert J. Cousins, Boston Family Professor of Nutrition at the University of Florida, Gainesville, received the 23rd Annual Bristol-Myers Squibb/Mead Johnson Award for Distinguished Achievement in Nutrition Research. He was recognized for his contributions to micronutrient research, in particular to insights into the metabolism and function of zinc in the body and its role in the immune system.

Physical chemist Larry Wagner of Texas Instruments is the first recipient of the National Organization of Gay & Lesbian Scientists & Technical Professionals GLBT Award. This award honors a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender engineer, scientist, or educator who has made outstanding contributions in his or her field, and the award recognizes sustained contributions in design, production, management, education, or research.

Sydney Brenner, Distinguished Research Professor at Salk Institute, La Jolla, Calif.; Sir Philip Cohen, Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Dundee, in Scotland; and Sir Alec Jeffreys, Royal Society Wolfson Research Professor at the University of Leicester, in England, have been honored by the Biochemical Society as honorary members.