‘The Voice’ meets science communications in the #ChemChamps contest (video)

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2015 — In an effort to find and train promising science communicators – perhaps even find the “Carl Sagan of chemistry” – the American Chemical Society (ACS) Chemistry Champions contest is back in 2015. Open to chemists 35 or younger worldwide, semifinalists in the contest will be flown to the ACS headquarters in Washington, D.C., for communications training, and finalists will compete in front of live audiences in Boston, Massachusetts. Contest details are available at http://www.acs.org/chemchamps.

The first round of the contest asks scientists to explain their research to the general public in a fun, two- to three-minute video. Examples from last year’s contest can be found at http://bit.ly/chemchamps2014, including the winning entry from Jennifer Novotney of Cornell University on how polymers can detect explosives. Also included is the entry from runner-up Alexis Shusterman of the University of California, Berkeley, on getting high-resolution maps of carbon dioxide emissions. Other videos touch on these topics: helping honey bees survive mite infestations, flavor-profiling whiskey, making new medicines and more.

Contest submissions are due by April 8. Views will be counted April 10-15 on the ACS YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user/AmerChemSoc. Round 1 winners will be announced April 16 via https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLG7h7fPoH8KRwapWIC71UDwJnVPj1ABF; semifinalists will be announced May 19. Look for continued information via #chemchamps on Twitter.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 158,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.