ACS names its 2024 Outreach Volunteers of the Year

The American Chemical Society’s Committee on Community Activities honors the service of 27 ACS members with a 2024 Outreach Volunteer of the Year Award. These volunteers from local sections and international chemical sciences chapters are recognized for their outstanding science outreach efforts.

Every year, one of these awardees is also named Global Outreach Volunteer of the Year. The recipient of the 2024 global award, who has conducted outreach with their local section for over 30 years, has chosen to remain anonymous. “[This year’s global award recipient] has demonstrated inexhaustible enthusiasm for inspiring and encouraging the next generation of chemists, and for easing the apprehension and mystery that many people associate with chemistry,” Lori Stepan, chair of the ACS Committee on Community Activities, states in an email.

The rest of this year’s local section and international chemical sciences chapter Outreach Volunteer of the Year awardees are Betty Jo Chitester of the Erie Local Section, Pamela Cohn of the South Jersey Local Section, Poulami Dutta of the Brazosport Local Section, Philip J. Elias of the Lehigh Valley Section, Edmy J. Ferrer-Torres of the Puerto Rico Section, Brandi Ford of the Virginia Section, Leonardo F. Fraceto of the Brazil International Chemical Sciences Chapter, David S. Heroux of the Green Mountain Local Section, Nedialka I. Iordanova of the Southwest Georgia Section, Lawrence Kolopajlo of the Huron Valley Local Section, Nawana Lawson of the Detroit Section, Regina M. Malczewski of the Midland Section, Deepika Malhotra of the Richland Section, Vanessa M. Marx of the California Section, Beverly Matsuda of the Orange County Section, Martha D. Morton of the Nebraska Local Section, Mary Chioma Okorie of the North Jersey Section, Denisia Popolan-Vaida of the Orlando Section, Rigel K. Rilling of the Permian Basin Local Section, Laurel A. Royer of the Georgia Section, Despina Strong of the Puget Sound Section, Blessing I. Umoh of the Nigeria International Chemical Sciences Chapter, Dorothea S. Wells of the Central Texas Local Section, Ding-Shyue “Jerry” Yang of the Greater Houston Section, Hannah Zimmerman-Federle of the Indiana Local Section, and Grazyna Zreda of the Southern Arizona Local Section.

Nina Notman is a freelance writer based in Salisbury, England.