2016 National Award Recipients
Following are the recipients of the 2016 National Awards administered by the American Chemical Society. Vignettes of the award recipients appeared in the January 4, 2016 issue of C&EN. These recipients will be honored at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, in conjunction with the 251st ACS national meeting in San Diego, CA. The Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award recipients will be honored during the fall national meeting in Philadelphia, PA.
ACS Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching and Learning of Chemistry
Sponsored by Pearson Education
Avi Hofstein, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Award Citation: For his contribution through research to the understanding of the field of learning in and from chemistry laboratories.
ACS Award for Affordable Green Chemistry
Sponsored by Dow Chemical Company and endowed by Rohm and Haas Company
Martin D. Johnson, Eli Lilly and Company
Joseph R. Martinelli, Eli Lilly and Company
Shannon S. Stahl, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Award Citation: For chemistry and engineering advances that enable commercial application of safe and scalable aerobic oxidation reactions in the development and manufacture of pharmaceuticals.
ACS Award for Computers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research
Sponsored by ACS Division of Computers in Chemistry
Warren J. Hehre, Wavefunction, Inc. and University of California, Irvine
Award Citation: For his significant contributions to the field of computational quantum chemistry.
ACS Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technology
Sponsored by ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry and the ACS Publications journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters
Bruce E. Logan, Penn State University
Award Citation: For the invention and development of devices that use microorganisms to convert waste biomass into useful products such as electrical power and hydrogen gas.
ACS Award for Creative Invention
Sponsored by the ACS Corporation Associates
Antonio Facchetti, Polyera Corporation and Northwestern University
Award Citation: For seminal contributions to the chemistry and characterization of organic electronic materials and their integration into commercially viable unconventional electronic and photonic devices.
ACS Award for Creative Work in Fluorine Chemistry
Sponsored by Juhua Group Technology Center (China)
Steven H. Strauss, Colorado State University
Award Citation: For the synthesis and application of highly fluorinated superweak anions and structural and spectroscopic characterization of perfluoroalkylated fullerenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Sponsored by the Aldrich Chemical Company, LLC
Scott J. Miller, Yale University
Award Citation: For his discovery of minimal peptidic catalysts for important enantioselective and site-selective reactions, bridging the fields of enzymology and small-molecule catalysis in completely unprecedented ways.
ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry
Sponsored by Strem Chemicals, Inc.
Vincent L. Pecoraro, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Award Citation: For outstanding contributions to research and major service in the discipline of inorganic chemistry.
ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences
Sponsored by The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
Luis A. Colón, State University of New York at Buffalo
Award Citation: For his encouragement and selfless dedication to increase the number of underrepresented students pursuing advanced degrees in chemistry.
ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences
Sponsored by The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
Carol A. Fierke, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Award Citation: For encouraging the careers of women in chemistry by working with the University of Michigan ADVANCE program, hiring and promoting women faculty, and mentoring students.
ACS Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution
Sponsored by Research Corporation for Science Advancement
Thomas E. Goodwin, Hendrix College
Award Citation: For blending green organic synthesis and mammalian chemical communication into a superb research experience for undergraduates at the interface of biology and chemistry.
ACS Award for Team Innovation
Sponsored by the ACS Corporation Associates
Matthew F. Brown, Pfizer Worldwide Medicinal Chemistry
Mark E. Flanagan, Pfizer Worldwide Medicinal Chemistry
Chakrapani Subramanyam, Pfizer Worldwide Medicinal Chemistry
Paul S. Changelian, Confluence Life Sciences
Michael J. Munchhof, Michael J. Munchhof, LLC
Award Citation: For work leading to the invention of Xeljanz (tofacitinib), the first JAK inhibitor to be approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry
Sponsored by Battelle Memorial Institute
William R. Heineman, University of Cincinnati
Award Citation: For his numerous innovative and interdisciplinary research contributions and educational advances in the areas of electroanalytical and bioanalytical chemistry.
ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science
Sponsored by Eastman Chemical Company
Thomas P. Russell, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Award Citation: For his pioneering research on the surface and interfacial behavior of polymers.
ACS Award in Chromatography
Sponsored by Millipore Sigma
Harold McNair, Virginia Tech
Award Citation: For outstanding contributions to the science of chromatography and to the education of chromatographers throughout a career spanning seven decades.
ACS Award in Colloid and Surface Chemistry
Sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive Co.
Nicholas L. Abbott, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Award Citation: For creative advances related to the science and application of colloidal and interfacial phenomena in liquid crystalline systems.
ACS Award in Industrial Chemistry
Sponsored by the ACS Division of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry
Ted C. Germroth, Eastman Chemical Company
Award Citation: For significant innovative achievement that has resulted in important commercial application in copolyester, polyolefin, cellulosic, and specialty polymer products and processes.
ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry
Sponsored by the Aldrich Chemical Company, LLC
Mercouri Kanatzidis, Northwestern University
Award Citation: For pioneering achievements in the development and undersrtanding of metal chalcogenide chemistry.
ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry
Sponsored by the Dow Chemical Company Foundation
Karen I. Goldberg, University of Washington
Award Citation: For groundbreaking work leading to fundamental advances in our understanding of the mechanisms of reactions crucial to the functioning of homogenous catalysts.
ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry
Sponsored by ExxonMobil Chemical Company
Edmund M. Carnahan, The Dow Chemical Company
Award Citation: For the invention and development of olefin block copolymers made via chain shuttling catalysis, a gateway to new advanced polyolefins.
ACS Award in Pure Chemistry
Sponsored by the Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity and the Alpha Chi Sigma Educational Foundation
Jonathan S. Owen, Columbia University
Award Citation: For his deep chemical understanding of the synthesis and surface chemistry of colloidal quantum dots.
ACS Award in Separations Science and Technology
Sponsored by Waters Corporation
Steven M. Cramer, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Award Citation: For contributions to a molecular-level understanding, adsorption isotherm formalisms, and the development and application of chromatographic bioprocesses for the purification of biopharmaceuticals.
ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials
Sponsored by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
Jean-Luc Bredas, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Award Citation: For seminal theoretical contributions to the understanding and design of new π-conjugated molecular and polymer materials in the fields of organic electronics and photonics.
ACS Award in Theoretical Chemistry
Sponsored by ACS
Roberto Car, Princeton University
Award Citation: For co-founding the field of ab initio molecular dynamics, and for numerous contributions to first-principles simulations of disordered materials and liquids.
Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society
Sponsored by the American Chemical Society
H. N. Cheng, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Award Citation: For his exemplary efforts and leadership in ACS Governance and for his consistent notable contributions in a large number of assignments.
Alfred Bader Award in Bioinorganic or Bioorganic Chemistry
Sponsored by the Alfred R. Bader Fund
Edward I. Solomon, Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Award Citation: For developing spectroscopic methods and defining electronic structure contributions to function in electron transfer and dioxygen activation and reduction by copper and iron metalloenzymes.
Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management
Sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company Foundation
Henry E. Bryndza, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Inc.
Award Citation: For his leadership of transformational technology development at the interface of chemistry and biology, ushering in a new era of improved, environmentally sustainable production for renewably resourced materials.
Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry
Sponsored by the Ronald Breslow Award Endowment
Thomas W. Muir, Princeton University
Award Citation: For development and application of expressed protein ligation in the understanding of intracellular signaling pathways such as the histone code for chromatin structure and function.
Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods
Sponsored by the Purdue Borane Research Fund and the Herbert C. Brown Award Endowment
Alois Fürstner, Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Mülheim/Ruhr, Germany
Award Citation: For seminal contributions to methodology development in synthetic organic chemistry, especially in transition metal catalysis, and to step- and atom-economical syntheses of complex natural products.
Alfred Burger Award in Medicinal Chemistry
Sponsored by Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Richard D. DiMarchi, Indiana University
Award Citation: For the discovery of Humalog® and the development of Forteo® and rGlucagon®. He pioneered the field of chemical-biotechnology and mixed peptide agonists for the treatment of metabolic diseases.
James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching
Sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific
Julia Winter, Alchemie Games, Detroit Country Day School, Beverly Hills, Michigan
Award Citation: For being a teacher of the absolute highest caliber who constantly challenges her students, teaches with passion and inventiveness, and accepts nothing less than excellence from them.
Arthur C. Cope Award
Sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund
Eric N. Jacobsen, Harvard University
Award Citation: For his contributions, both fundamental and practical, to the fields of asymmetric catalysis and organic synthesis.
Arthur C. Cope Late Career Scholars Award
Sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund
Takahiko Akiyama, Gakushuin University, Japan
Award Citation: For outstanding contributions to organic chemistry, in particular, in the development of chiral Brønsted acid catalysts.
Marc M. Greenberg, Johns Hopkins University
Award Citation: For significant research contributions toward a mechanistic understanding of DNA damage and repair processes that impact human health.
Thomas Kodadek, The Scripps Research Institute
Award Citation: For exemplary work in elucidating and manipulating important biological pathways using novel chemical and biochemical tools.
Lawrence T. Scott, University of Nevada, Reno and Boston College
Award Citation: For pioneering research on the synthesis, properties, and chemical behavior of carbon-rich cyclic and polycyclic organic compounds.
Arthur C. Cope Mid Career Scholars Award
Sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund
Kristi S. Anseth, University of Colorado, Boulder
Award Citation: For innovation and creativity in the development of novel methods to control the location and timing of chemical modifications of biomaterials.
Geert-Jan Boons, The University of Georgia and Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Award Citation: For seminal contributions to glycoscience by developing novel methods for oligosaccharide assembly, preparation of important glycoconjugates, and their use in biological studies.
Seth M. Cohen, University of California, San Diego
Award Citation: For advancements in the postsynthetic modification of metal–organic frameworks, and for insights into the identification of innovative pharmacophores for the development of metalloprotein inhibitors.
Matthew J. Gaunt, University of Cambridge England
Award Citation: For seminal contributions to reaction development using both organic and metal catalysts.
Arthur C. Cope Early Career Scholars Award
Sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund
Luis M. Campos, Columbia University
Award Citation: For pioneering work in the synthesis of functional organic materials that are capable of singlet fission, a key mechanism for third-generation solar cells.
David A. Spiegel, Yale University
Award Citation: For pioneering work in the development of synthetic systems that modulate the human immune system.
Elias J. Corey Award for Outstanding Original Contribution in Organic Synthesis by a Young Investigator
Sponsored by the Pfizer Endowment Fund
Phil S. Baran, The Scripps Research Institute
Award Citation: For the development of innovative methodology and its applications in the total synthesis of complex natural products.
F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry
Sponsored by the F. Albert Cotton Endowment Fund
François P. Gabbaï, Texas A&M University
Award Citation: For his work on the synthesis of electron-deficient main group compounds and the study of their anion binding and redox properties.
Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry
Sponsored by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company
Mark A. Ratner, Northwestern University
Award Citation: For founding the field of molecular electronics; insistence that theory work with experiment; collaborative research in election transport/transfer, quantum dynamics, energy capture/storage; and related issues.
Frank H. Field and Joe L. Franklin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mass Spectrometry
Sponsored by Waters Corporation
Albert J. R. Heck, Netherlands Proteomics Centre and Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Award Citation: For his outstanding work in the field of protein mass spectrometry and his role in the development of enabling technologies for both proteomics and structural biology.
Francis P. Garvan–John M. Olin Medal
Sponsored by the Francis P. Garvan–John M. Olin Medal Endowment
Annie B. Kersting, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Award Citation: For seminal contributions to understanding radionuclide behavior in the environment, mentoring students and postdocs, and developing successful education programs in nuclear forensics and environmental radiochemistry.
James T. Grady–James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public
Sponsored by the American Chemical Society
Peter Atkins, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Award Citation: For using the written word so effectively to spread an appreciation and understanding of the contributions of chemistry to the modern world.
Harry Gray Award for Creative Work in Inorganic Chemistry by a Young Investigator
Sponsored by the Gray Award Endowment
Eric J. Schelter, University of Pennsylvania
Award Citation: For his studies on the electronic structures, bonding, and redox properties of f-block complexes for novel separations strategies.
Ernest Guenther Award in the Chemistry of Natural Products
Sponsored by Givaudan
Eric Block, University at Albany, SUNY
Award Citation: For his seminal, career-spanning research on sulfur-containing natural products, especially those from genus Allium plants, and on the chemistry of olfaction.
Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success
Sponsored by the Kathryn C. Hach Award Fund
Scott D. Allen, Novomer, Inc.
Anthony R. Eisenhut, Novomer, Inc.
Geoffrey W. Coates, Cornell University
Award Citation: For founding Novomer, a company commercializing a family of sustainable high-performance polymers and chemicals synthesized from waste gases such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry of Liquids
Sponsored by ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Kenneth S. Schweizer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Award Citation: For the pioneering development of microscopic predictive and unified theories of the structure, phase behavior, and slow dynamics of complex liquids, glasses, and gels
Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry
Sponsored by Merck Research Laboratories
Ronald T. Raines, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Award Citation: For extraordinarily creative contributions to diverse aspects of peptide chemistry, including identifying the structural role of stereoelectronic effects and the development of new ligation methods.
Ipatieff Prize
Sponsored by the Ipatieff Trust Fund
Aditya Bhan, University of Minnesota
Award Citation: For contributions to heterogeneous catalysis through detailed kinetic and mechanistic studies of acid catalyzed C–C bond formation and methods for conversion of methanol feedstocks.
Frederic Stanley Kipping Award in Silicon Chemistry
Sponsored by Dow Corning Corporation
Michael A. Brook, McMaster University, Canada
Award Citation: For his creative approaches to the synthesis of siloxane materials with controlled morphology, including silica and silicones, and the application of these strategies to biomaterials.
Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics
Sponsored by GE Global Research and the ACS Division of Physical Chemistry
George C. Schatz, Northwestern University
Award Citation: For broad-ranging contributions to theories in physical chemistry, including research in reaction dynamics, plasmonic spectroscopy, self-assembly of soft materials, and carbon-based nanomaterials.
Josef Michl ACS Award in Photochemistry
Sponsored by the Josef Michl Award Endowment
Frederick D. Lewis, Northwestern University
Award Citation: For his elegant, incisive research on photochemistry of molecules from ketones to DNA, and his mechanistic analyses that explain, clarify, and generalize these experimental results.
E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
Sponsored by ExxonMobil Research and Engineering
Michael M. Thackeray, Argonne National Laboratory
Award Citation: For life-long contributions to the scientific research, discovery, and technological development of lithium battery electrode materials.
Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry
Sponsored by AvantorTM Performance Materials, Inc.
Matthew J. Polinski (student) Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
Thomas E. Albrecht-Schmitt (preceptor) Florida State University
Award Citation: For the development of the chemistry of californium that demonstrates its unique role in uniting the f-block with the d-block.
James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry
Sponsored by the ACS Northeastern Section
J.C. (Tito) Scaiano, University of Ottawa, Canada
Award Citation: For his pioneering contribution to understanding organic photochemistry and the chemistry of short-lived reaction intermediates, and creatively applying their principles to contemporary problems.
George A. Olah Award in Hydrocarbon or Petroleum Chemistry
Sponsored by the George A. Olah Award Endowment
Mieczyslaw M. Boduszynski, Retired, Chevron Energy Technology Company
Award Citation: For his significant contributions to the understanding of the molecular composition of petroleum and for his profound influence on a generation of petroleum chemists.
George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education
Sponsored by Cengage Learning and the ACS Division of Chemical Education
Richard S. Moog, Franklin & Marshall College and The POGIL Project
Award Citation: For developing and encouraging the use of innovative, student-centered teaching approaches and fostering true collaboration among professionals that benefits the entire chemical education community.
Glenn T. Seaborg Award for Nuclear Chemistry
Sponsored by the ACS Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology
E. Philip Horwitz, Eichrom Technologies, LLC
Award Citation: For the development of novel solvent extraction processes and extraction chromatographic materials for the analytical, preparative, and process-scale separation of actinides and fission products.
Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis
Sponsored by the Gabor A. and Judith K. Somorjai Endowment Fund
Donna G. Blackmond, The Scripps Research Institute
Award Citation: For fundamental kinetic and mechanistic studies that help to bridge the gap between heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis of organic reactions.
George and Christine Sosnovsky Award for Cancer Research
Sponsored by the George and Christine Sosnovsky Endowment Fund
Juswinder Singh, Ankaa Therapeutics
Award Citation: For pioneering the development of targeted covalent drugs that are having a transformative impact on the treatment of cancer patients.
E. Bright Wilson Award in Spectroscopy
Sponsored by the ACS Division of Physical Chemistry
Robert G. Griffin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Award Citation: For the transformational solid-state NMR methods of dipolar recoupling and high-frequency dynamic nuclear polarization that enable structure determination in complex chemical, materials, and biological systems.
Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology
Sponsored by the Ahmed Zewail Endowment Fund established by the Newport Corporation
Andrei Tokmakoff, The University of Chicago
Award Citation: For his contributions to the development of coherent two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy and its application to equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics.
National Fresenius Award
Sponsored by Phi Lambda Upsilon, The National Chemistry Honor Society
Douglas A. Mitchell, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Award Citation: For his contributions toward the mechanistic understanding and reegineering of natural product biosynthesis.