Public Service Awards

ACS's Project SEED and Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann will receive National Science Board (NSB) Public Service Awards at ceremonies in Washington, D.C., in May. The awards recognize individuals and organizations for significant contributions to increasing public understanding of science and engineering.

Project SEED promotes science careers by providing economically disadvantaged high school students with summer research experiences in chemistry laboratories under the supervision of volunteer mentors. More than 9,000 Project SEED students have participated since 1968.

"ACS is honored and thrilled to be recognized for Project SEED," says Madeleine Jacobs, ACS executive director and CEO. "Many of these students have gone on to become scientists, but even those who did not have developed self-confidence and discovered new abilities that have enabled them to be successful in their lives."

In a press release, NSB Chairman Steven C. Beering commends Hoffmann for "reaching out broadly to both the public and the scientific community to emphasize the essential role of chemistry in the world and for building bridges between chemistry and other sciences, the arts and humanities, and the general public."

"The award means a lot to me, for it recognizes everything I have been trying to do, in chemistry and outside, reaching out in the broadest way. I put it that way because I try not to separate my worlds," Hoffmann says.