2017 National Award Recipients
The following are the recipients of the 2017 National Awards administered by the American Chemical Society (ACS). Vignettes of the award recipients appeared in the Jan. 2, 2017 issue of C&EN. The recipients were honored at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 4 in conjunction with the 254th ACS National Meeting in San Francisco. The Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award recipients will be honored during the fall national meeting in Washington, D.C.
ACS Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching and Learning of Chemistry
Sponsored by ACS Exams Institute
Marcy H. Towns, Purdue University
Award Citation: For research that has increased our understanding of undergraduate laboratory, physical chemistry, and group learning, which has positively impacted teaching and learning in chemistry.
ACS Award for Affordable Green Chemistry
Sponsored by Dow Chemical Company and endowed by Rohm and Haas Company
Peter J. Dunn, Pfizer (Retired)
Award Citation: For leading the Pfizer Green Chemistry Program and receiving significant external recognition, including for the greener total synthesis of sildenafil citrate.
ACS Award for Computers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research
Sponsored by ACS Division of Computers in Chemistry
Yvonne C. Martin, Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie
Award Citation: For leading the field through creative additions, thoughtful application, and enthusiastic promotion of the tools of computer-aided drug design.
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
Douglas R. Worsnop, Aerodyne Research Inc. and University of Helsinki, Finland
Award Citation: For pioneering research on gas-aqueous atmospheric chemistry and the development of the aerosol mass spectrometer, which has revolutionized atmospheric aerosol measurements.
ACS Award for Creative Invention
Sponsored by the ACS Corporation Associates
Richard B. Silverman, Northwestern University
Award Citation: For his fundamental enzyme inhibitor work resulting in his invention of pregabalin, which has become the blockbuster drug LyricaTM, marketed by Pfizer for fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain, spinal cord injury pain, and epilepsy.
ACS Award for Creative Work in Fluorine Chemistry
Sponsored by the ACS Division of Fluorine Chemistry
Antonio Togni, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Award Citation: For research on electrophilic trifluoromethylation that combines rational experimental design, comprehensive analysis of mechanism, and detailed interpretation of structural influences on bonding and reactivity.
ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Sponsored by MilliporeSigma
Matthew S. Sigman, University of Utah
Award Citation: For his creative, seminal work in synthetic organic chemistry, especially his innovative contributions to the Wacker oxidation and Heck reaction.
ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry
Sponsored by Strem Chemicals, Inc.
William B. Tolman, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Award Citation: For impactful contributions to our understanding of copper centers in biology and catalysis, and outstanding leadership in service to the inorganic chemistry and larger community.
ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences
Sponsored by The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
Saundra Y. McGuire, Louisiana State University
Award Citation: For her distinguished service encouraging underrepresented students to reach their full potential by teaching them metacognitive learning strategies and mentoring them to success.
ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences
Sponsored by The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
Judith M. Iriarte-Gross, Middle Tennessee State University
Award Citation: For her continued persistence and tireless efforts to level the playing field for women in chemistry and to inspire young women to major in chemistry.
ACS Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution
Sponsored by Research Corporation for Science Advancement
Maria Hepel, State University of New York at Potsdam
Award Citation: For fostering and mentoring innovative undergraduate research in diverse fields of public concern related to human health, environmental monitoring and remediation, energy conversion, and nanotechnology.
ACS Award for Team Innovation
Sponsored by the ACS Corporation Associates
Robert A. DeVries, R DeVries Consulting, LLC
Philip E. Garrou, Microelectronic Consultants of NC
Carol E. Mohler, The Dow Chemical Company
Eric S. Moyer, LORD Corporation
Theodore M. Stokich, Jr., The Dow Chemical Company
Award Citation: For participating on a Dow Chemical team in the 1990s that developed a high-performance polymeric material, benzocyclobutene, which enabled the microelectronics industry to miniaturize integrated circuit packaging.
ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry
Sponsored by Battelle Memorial Institute
Donald F. Hunt, University of Virginia
Award Citation: For pioneering efforts to develop mass spectrometry methods and instrumemtation that facilitated characterization of peptides and proteins and provided the foundation for the field of proteomics.
ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science
Sponsored by Eastman Chemical Company
Zhenan Bao, Stanford University
Award Citation: For pioneering work on the design, processing, and applications of polymer electronic materials for flexible and stretchable electronics.
ACS Award in Chromatography
Sponsored by MilliporeSigma
Robert T. Kennedy, University of Michigan
Award Citation: For the development of innovative techniques in miniaturization of chemical separations and microfluidics for highly sensitive analysis of biological compounds.
ACS Award in Colloid Chemistry
Sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive Co.
Nicholas A. Kotov, University of Michigan
Award Citation: For creative foundational studies of self-assembly phenomena of nanoparticles on surfaces and in dispersions.
ACS Award in Industrial Chemistry
Sponsored by the ACS Division of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry
Jane Frommer, IBM Research
Award Citation: For pioneering the use of STM/AFM in organic materials, for fundamental studies of the solution state of electronically conducting polymers, and for extensive community involvement.
ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry
Sponsored by the Aldrich Chemical Company, LLC
Lawrence Que, Jr., University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Award Citation: For his many contributions to the field of inorganic chemistry that have profoundly impacted our understanding of the nature of high-valent iron centers in biology.
ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry
Sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company Foundation
Marcetta Y. Darensbourg, Texas A&M University
Award Citation: For insight and application of the fundamental principles of organometallic chemistry to hydrogenase enzyme active sites and synthetic analogues as foundational bioorganometallic molecules.
ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry
Sponsored by ExxonMobil Chemical Company
Murugappan Muthukumar, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Award Citation: For incisive and ground-breaking analysis of fundamental problems across the full spectrum of polymer chemistry, especially with respect to charged polymers.
ACS Award in Pure Chemistry
Sponsored by the Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity and the Alpha Chi Sigma Educational Foundation
Neal K. Devaraj, University of California, San Diego
Award Citation: For his outstanding accomplishments in bioconjugation chemistry, which include the development of new reactions for cellular imaging and the assembly of artificial membranes.
ACS Award in Separations Science and Technology
Sponsored by Waters Corporation
Rakesh Agrawal, Purdue University
Award Citation: For novel and fundamental insights in the synthesis of energy efficient distillation and membranes based separation processes, and their application in numerous industrial plants.
ACS Award in Surface Chemistry
Sponsored by ACS Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry
Cynthia Friend, Harvard University
Award Citation: For her paradigmatic developments in the mechanistic understanding of oxygen-assisted catalytic cycles on gold surfaces and their implementation to nanoporous gold catalysts under realistic conditions.
ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials
Sponsored by DuPont
Douglas A. Keszler, Oregon State University
Award Citation: For pioneering contributions to design and development of functional materials, including nonlinear optical crystals, transistor insulators and semiconductors, solar absorbers, and high-resolution inorganic patterning materials.
ACS Award in Theoretical Chemistry
Sponsored by the ACS Division of Physical Chemistry
Peter Pulay, University of Arkansas
Award Citation: For the analytical gradient method, NMR parameter calculations, local correlation concept, and direct inversion in the iterative subspace technique.
Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society
Sponsored by the American Chemical Society
D. Richard Cobb, Eastman Kodak Company (Retired)
Award Citation: For his exemplary service to the ACS as a leader at the local, regional, and national levels, which has had a wide-ranging impact on the Society.
Roger Adams Award in Organic Chemistry
Sponsored by Organic Reactions, Inc. and Organic Syntheses, Inc.
Hisashi Yamamoto, Chubu University, Japan
Award Citation: For pioneering and highly creative contributions to the development of methods for the catalytic asymmetric synthesis for carbon–carbon, carbon–oxygen, and carbon–nitrogen bond formations.
Alfred Bader Award in Bioinorganic or Bioorganic Chemistry
Sponsored by the Alfred R. Bader Fund
Kim D. Janda, The Scripps Research Institute
Award Citation: For his ability to integrate the principles of chemistry, molecular biology, immunology, and neuropharmacology to create molecules engendered with both biological and chemical function.
Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management
Sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company Foundation
Laurie E. Locascio, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Award Citation: For outstanding leadership, vision, and creativity in promoting high-impact research and standards development to serve the chemical and chemical engineering communities.
Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry
Sponsored by the Ronald Breslow Award Endowment
Benjamin G. Davis, University of Oxford, England
Award Citation: For the development of selective and benign bond-forming strategies applied to biology, enabling functional mimicry of synthetic biomolecules, bioconjugates, cells, and viruses in vitro and in vivo.
Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods
Sponsored by the Purdue Borane Research Fund and the Herbert C. Brown Award Endowment
Bruce H. Lipshutz, University of California, Santa Barbara
Award Citation: For more than 30 years of contributions of reagents and methodologies, many of which are commercially available and routinely used in synthetic organic chemistry.
James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching
Sponsored by the Journal of Chemical Education and ChemEd X
Laura E. Slocum, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, South Carolina
Award Citation: For inspiring students to learn the beauty of our molecular world and for contributions to chemistry education as a researcher, editor, and exemplary educator.
Arthur C. Cope Award
Sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund
Carolyn Bertozzi, Stanford University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Award Citation: For pioneering the field of bioorthogonal chemistry, and for its innovative applications to the field of glycobiology
Arthur C. Cope Late Career Scholars Award
Sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund
M.G. Finn, The Scripps Research Institute and the Georgia Institute of Technology
Award Citation: For the development of chemical ligation methods and platforms, applied to bioconjugation and materials chemistry.
Thomas R. Hoye, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Award Citation: For creative contributions across an impressively broad spectrum of organic chemistry, including the development of the hexadehydro-Diels-Alder (HDDA) reaction.
Kathlyn A. Parker, Stony Brook University
Award Citation: For outstanding and creative contributions to the synthesis of structurally complex organic targets.
Mikiko Sodeoka, RIKEN, Japan
Award Citation: For her seminal contributions to the fields of transition metal chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, organofluorine chemistry, and chemical biology through the development of innovative methodologies and tools.
Arthur C. Cope Mid Career Scholars Award
Sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund
Sherry R. Chemler, State University of New York at Buffalo
Award Citation: For the development of stereoselective copper-catalyzed alkene difunctionalization reactions and their applications in the synthesis of saturated oxygen and nitrogen heterocycles.
P. Andrew Evans, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
Award Citation: For his development of innovative rhodium-catalyzed reactions and their applications to the synthesis of biologically relevant complex molecules.
Paul J. Hergenrother, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Award Citation: For innovative use and application of organic synthesis to solve critical problems at the frontiers of chemical biology and translational drug discovery.
Christopher D. Vanderwal, University of California, Irvine
Award Citation: For the development of efficient chemical syntheses of structurally complex and biologically significant natural products.
Arthur C. Cope Early Career Scholars Award
Sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund
Alejandro Briseno, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Award Citation: For his outstanding accomplishments on the design and synthesis of unconventional, chemically stable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their charge transport properties.
Guangbin Dong, University of Texas at Austin and University of Chicago
Award Citation: For his outstanding accomplishments on transition-metal catalyzed synthetic methods involving carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bond activation.
Elias J. Corey Award for Outstanding Original Contribution in Organic Synthesis by a Young Investigator
Sponsored by the Pfizer Endowment Fund
Neil K. Garg, University of California, Los Angeles
Award Citation: For breakthroughs in synthetic methodology and exceptional achievements in natural product synthesis.
F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry
Sponsored by the F. Albert Cotton Endowment Fund
Pingyun Feng, University of California, Riverside
Award Citation: For her advances in the synthesis of metal chalcogenide clusters and her crystal engineering of porous semiconductors, coordination polymers, and photocatalysts.
Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry
Sponsored by DuPont
Bruce J. Berne, Columbia University
Award Citation: For pioneering theoretical and computer simulation studies of liquid state and biomolecular systems, and for dramatically increasing the impact of these methods in physical chemistry.
Frank H. Field and Joe L. Franklin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mass Spectrometry
Sponsored by Waters Corporation
Vicki H. Wysocki, The Ohio State University
Award Citation: For her outstanding accomplishments in the development of surface-induced dissociation for native mass spectrometry structural characterization of non-covalent complexes.
Francis P. Garvan–John M. Olin Medal
Sponsored by the Francis P. Garvan–John M. Olin Medal Endowment
Barbara J. Finlayson-Pitts, University of California, Irvine
Award Citation: For her dedication to serving the chemical research community and for her inspirational work on interpreting science for the general public.
James T. Grady–James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public
Sponsored by the American Chemical Society
Thomas Hager, University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication
Award Citation: For displaying a magnificent range of scientific mastery that, time and again, has enabled him to demystify chemistry and other sciences for the public.
Harry Gray Award for Creative Work in Inorganic Chemistry by a Young Investigator
Sponsored by the Gray Award Endowment
Nilay Hazari, Yale University
Award Citation: For creative contributions to the elucidation of inorganic and organometallic reaction mechanisms.
Ernest Guenther Award in the Chemistry of Natural Products
Sponsored by Givaudan
Stephen F. Martin, The University of Texas at Austin
Award Citation: For creative invention and development of new methods and strategies and their application to concise syntheses of a remarkably diverse array of natural products.
Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success
Sponsored by the Kathryn C. Hach Award Fund
David R. Walt, Tufts University
Award Citation: For inventing and commercializing microwell arrays that benefit research, medicine, and agriculture with tremendous impact on the economy through job and value creation.
Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry of Liquids
Sponsored by ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Salvatore Torquato, Princeton University
Award Citation: For his numerous, unifying theoretical contributions to the statistical mechanics of liquids and glasses, and how the inter-particle interactions present discriminate among alternative crystal structures.
E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
Sponsored by ExxonMobil Research and Engineering
Eleftherios Terry Papoutsakis, University of Delaware
Award Citation: For technology-enabling fundamental contributions in cell-culture engineering, metabolic engineering, and stem-cell biotechnology.
Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry
Sponsored by AvantorTM Performance Materials, Inc.
Junqi Li (student), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Martin D. Burke (preceptor), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Award Citation: For transforming iterative cross-coupling with MIDA boronates into a powerfully simple and increasingly general automated platform for complex natural products synthesis.
James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry
Sponsored by the ACS Northeastern Section
Robert A. Moss, Rutgers University
Award Citation: For pioneering research on carbenes, carbocations, diazirines, and reactive intermediates in general, coupled with sustained pedagogical contributions to physical organic chemistry.
George A. Olah Award in Hydrocarbon or Petroleum Chemistry
Sponsored by the George A. Olah Award Endowment
Robert Howard Grubbs, California Instititute of Technology
Award Citation: For his fundamental work and revolutionary contributions for converting hydrocarbons to new molecules, polymers, and materials, using olefin metathesis catalysis.
George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education
Sponsored by Cengage Learning and the ACS Division of Chemical Education
Thomas Holme, Iowa State University
Award Citation: For his pioneering work in developing curriculum materials for pre-engineering students and advancing our understanding of measurement of student learning in chemistry.
Glenn T. Seaborg Award for Nuclear Chemistry
Sponsored by the ACS Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology
David L. Clark, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Award Citation: For innovative systematic studies of the fundamental chemistry of actinide elements using novel experimental techniques that give new insights into chemical bonding of 5f electrons.
Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis
Sponsored by the Gabor A. and Judith K. Somorjai Endowment Fund
John E. Bercaw, California Institute of Technology
Award Citation: For the elucidation of detailed mechanisms of organometallic reactions that comprise catalytic cycles.
E. Bright Wilson Award in Spectroscopy
Sponsored by the ACS Division of Physical Chemistry
David J. Nesbitt, JILA/NIST and University of Colorado, Boulder
Award Citation: For his outstanding contributions to the understanding of molecular structures and reaction dynamics by high resolution and single-particle spectroscopic methods.
Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology
Sponsored by the Ahmed Zewail Endowment Fund established by the Newport Corporation
Stephen R. Leone, University of California, Berkeley
Award Citation: For his pioneering development of femtosecond and attosecond extreme ultraviolet pulse measurements for chemical dynamics.
National Fresenius Award
Sponsored by Phi Lambda Upsilon, The National Chemistry Honor Society
Neal K. Devaraj, University of California, San Diego
Award Citation: For his outstanding contributions toward the development of tetrazine ligations.
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