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Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal: Valerie J. Kuck

January 8, 2018 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 96, Issue 2

Sponsor: Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal Endowment

Citation: For pioneering research on coatings for optical fibers and copper wire and for transformative achievements leading to a more diverse and inclusive chemical profession.

Current position: retired researcher, Bell Labs

Education: B.S., chemistry, St. Mary of the Woods College; M.S., chemistry, Purdue University

Kuck on what gets her creative juices flowing: “I am driven by the ideal of making things better for the next generation. I am proud to have been the originator of Sci-Mix. It bothered me greatly to see so many young national meeting attendees who were just hanging around the hotel lobbies on Monday night. They had not established their networks, and I reasoned that a large poster session would help them meet other scientists with similar interests. I am also proud of the two presidential symposia, High Tc Super Conductors and Cold Fusion, that I organized in a couple of days just before a national meeting. Those symposia allowed the meeting attendees an opportunity to hear the latest research findings as news of those efforts was just breaking.”

What her colleagues say: “In all, Valerie’s research led to 25 patents and 26 technical publications published in top peer-reviewed journals. Valerie’s service to chemistry and to the American Chemical Society is almost without peer. The theme of her work is creating a more diverse and inclusive chemical profession with a focus on gender, ethnic, and racial diversity, as well as on the needs of bachelor/master’s chemists and industrial chemists, who have been underrepresented as recipients of national awards, in holding national offices, and even in ACS programs that serve these constituencies.”—Madeleine Jacobs, Council of Scientific Society Presidents

Please send announcements of awards to l_wang@acs.org.



ACS Award for Computers in Chemical & Pharmaceutical Research: Jürgen Bajorath

ACS Award in Surface Chemistry: Stacey F. Bent

ACS Award for Team Innovation: Vladimir G. Beylin, Brian P. Chekal, Nga M. Do, David W. Fry, Nathan D. Ide, Brian P. Jones, Peter L. Toogood, and Hairong (Angela) Zhou

ACS Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching & Learning of Chemistry: George M. Bodner

F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry: A. S. Borovik

E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry: Linda J. Broadbelt

James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry: Cynthia J. Burrows

Alfred Bader Award in Bioinorganic or Bioorganic Chemistry: Alison Butler

ACS Award in Theoretical Chemistry: Emily A. Carter

ACS Award in Pure Chemistry: Mircea Dincă

Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society: Carol A. Duane

Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management: Margaret M. Faul

Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics: George W. Flynn

Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods: Gregory C. Fu

Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry: Lila M. Gierasch

ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry: Michael L. Gross

ACS Award for Affordable Green Chemistry: Frank Gupton and D. Tyler McQuade

ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science: Paula T. Hammond

George & Christine Sosnovsky Award for Cancer Research: Paul J. Hergenrother

Elias J. Corey Award for Outstanding Original Contribution in Organic Synthesis by a Young Investigator: Seth B. Herzon

Frederic Stanley Kipping Award in Silicon Chemistry: Tamejiro Hiyama

ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences: Jani C. Ingram

ACS Award for Creative Invention: Robert S. Kania

ACS Award for Creative Work in Fluorine Chemistry: Erhard Kemnitz

James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching: Brian J. Kennedy

ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry: Clifford P. Kubiak

Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal: Valerie J. Kuck

ACS Award in Industrial Chemistry: George P. Lahm

Alfred Burger Award in Medicinal Chemistry: Dennis C. Liotta

Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry: David R. Liu

Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis: David W. C. MacMillan

National Fresenius Award: Thomas J. Maimone

Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success: Javier García-Martínez

ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry: James M. Mayer

ACS Award in Separations Science & Technology: Massimo Morbidelli

George A. Olah Award in Hydrocarbon or Petroleum Chemistry: Oliver C. Mullins

ACS Award in Chromatography: Janusz B. Pawliszyn

ACS Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution: Joseph J. Pesek

Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry: Paras N. Prasad

Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical & Experimental Chemistry of Liquids: Lawrence R. Pratt

ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry: Thomas B. Rauchfuss

ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials: Elsa Reichmanis

Frank H. Field & Joe L. Franklin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mass Spectrometry: Carol V. Robinson

ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences: Rebecca T. Ruck

Josef Michl ACS Award in Photochemistry: Jack Saltiel

E. Bright Wilson Award in Spectroscopy: Richard J. Saykally

Harry Gray Award for Creative Work in Inorganic Chemistry by a Young Investigator: Dwight S. Seferos

James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public: Bassam Z. Shakhashiri

Glenn T. Seaborg Award for Nuclear Chemistry: Suresh C. Srivastava

ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry: Brian M. Stoltz

ACS Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science & Technology: Barbara J. Turpin

George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education: Pratibha Varma-Nelson

ACS Award in Colloid Chemistry: Håkan Wennerström

Ernest Guenther Award in the Chemistry of Natural Products: David R. Williams

ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry: C. Grant Willson

Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science & Technology: Xiaoyang Zhu

Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry: Aleksandr V. Zhukhovitskiy (student) and Jeremiah A. Johnson (preceptor)

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