ACS Announces 2016 National Award Winners

The American Chemical Society has announced the winners of its 2016 national awards.

The recognition program is designed to encourage the advancement of chemistry in all its branches, to support research in chemical science and industry, and to promote the careers of chemists.

Highlights of the 2016 awards include the Priestley Medalist, Mostafa A. El-Sayed of Georgia Tech; the Arthur C. Cope Awardee, Eric N. Jacobsen of Harvard University; and the Volunteer Service Award honoree, H. N. Cheng of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.

“I want to congratulate all the winners for achieving this recognition,” says Valerie Kuck, chair of the ACS Board Committee on Grants & Awards, which oversees the national awards program. “These are our top awards, and we’re trying to recognize excellence and those people who are making a difference. I think it’s very uplifting to see people that you know have worked brilliantly in an area get recognition for those efforts.”

The awardees will be honored during a gala at the 2016 spring ACS national meeting in San Diego.

Nominations are being sought for the 2017 national awards. “I strongly urge people to nominate people who have made significant contributions to the field,” Kuck says. “We want to recognize all excellent work, whether it be in industry, academe, or government, and we want to especially encourage people from groups that are underrepresented in the recipient pool, such as women and industrial chemists, in particular.”

The full list of 2016 winners and nomination information for the 2017 awards are available at www.acs.org/nationalawards.