2020 Recipients

Stacey Lowery Bretz, Miami University

Award Citation: For distinguished contributions to chemistry education research, particularly for the development of meaningful and robust assessment instruments to drive transformation in curriculum and pedagogy.

Address to be presented before the Division of Chemical Education. 

Award Citation: For outstanding contributions to the development of catalysts and processes to produce sustainable bioacrylic acid, superabsorbent polymers, adhesives, and coatings from renewable lactic acid.

Address to be presented before the Division of Cellulose and Renewable Materials.

Charles L. Brooks III, University of Michigan

Award Citation: For his work as a pioneering innovator of methods and applications in biomolecular simulation, emphasizing solvation, protein and nucleic acid function, and pH-mediated biological processes.

Address to be presented before the Division of Computers in Chemistry. 

Kevin C. Jones, Lancaster University, United Kingdom

Award Citation: For advancing quantitative understanding of the global dynamics of persistent organic pollutants, their sources, emissions, mass balances, fates and multi-media exchanges.  

Address to be presented before the Division of Environmental Chemistry.

Anil Kumar, PPG

Award Citation: For the the creative invention of variable polarization technology that enabled Transitions Vantage lens.

Address to be presented before the Division of Organic Chemistry.

Robert G. Syvret, Fluorine Chemistry and Technology, LLC (F2ChemTech)

Award Citation: For industrialization of Selectfluor and DeoxoFluor ­fluorination agents and development of selective fluorination processes for high-­purity electronics and low-GWP gases and fluorinated biologically active materials.

Address to be presented before the Division of Fluorine Chemistry.

Michael J. Krische, University of Texas at Austin

Award Citation: For the discovery and development of paradigm-shifting synthetic methods for catalytic C–C coupling beyond premetalated reagents via hydrogen transfer.

Address to be presented before the Division of Organic Chemistry.

Bruce E. Bursten, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Award Citation: For distinguished contributions to inorganic chemistry as an outstanding researcher in inorganic electronic structure and bonding, inspirational teacher and author, and forward-thinking leader.

Address to be presented before the Division of Inorganic Chemistry.

Lawrence K. Duffy, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Award Citation: For 35 years of work with Native Alaskan chemistry students, teaching them, encouraging them, mentoring them, and opening doors for them to pursue their dreams.

Address to be presented before the Division of Chemical Education.  

Katherine J. Franz, Duke University

Award Citation: For her outstanding accomplishments in encouraging women to pursue and thrive in careers in the chemical sciences.

Address to be presented before the Division of Inorganic Chemistry.

Kerry K. Karukstis, Harvey Mudd College

Award Citation: For her research accomplishments, mentorship, and professional training of undergraduates, advancement strategies for women STEM faculty, and national efforts to promote undergraduate research.

Address to be presented before the Division of Colloid & Surface Chemistry.

Mark E. Meyerhoff, University of Michigan

Award Citation: For his significant contributions to the field of electrochemical/optical chemical sensors and advancing their analytical applications for both in vitro and in vivo biomedical measurements.

Address to be presented before the Division of Analytical Chemistry.

Joachim Kohn, Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey

Award Citation: For creating amino acid-derived polymers with unique properties. For developing computational-combinatorial approaches for polymers and translating his work into life-saving products.

Address to be presented before the Division of Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering at the ACS fall national meeting in San Francisco, CA.

Lane C. Sander, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Citation: For his outstanding contributions to the understanding of the behavior of alkyl-modified stationary phases in liquid chromatography through chromatographic and spectroscopic characterization.

Address to be presented before the Division of Analytical Chemistry. 

Molly Stevens, Imperial College, United Kingdom

Award Citation: For use of colloidal chemistry to make groundbreaking new materials and technologies for life sciences and regenerative medicine.

Address to be presented before the Division of Colloid & Surface Chemistry.

Mahfuza B. Ali, 3M

Award Citation: For inventing and commercializing novel ionic chemistries and manufacturing processes resulting in significant applications ranging from ink-receptive, antistatic, reflective, polarizing, and antimicrobials films and coatings.

Address to be presented before the Division of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry.

Catherine J. Murphy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Award Citation: For pioneering research on the synthesis and properties of gold nanocrystals.

Address to be presented before the Division of Inorganic Chemistry. 

Milton R. Smith, III, Michigan State University

Award Citation: For the catalytic synthesis of organoboron compounds from hydrocarbons and boranes: a fundamental development in CH functionalizations of arenes and heterocycles.

Address to be presented before the Division of Inorganic Chemistry.

Jeffrey S. Moore, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Award Citation: For the conception, testing, and validation of the mechanophore hypothesis, and for pioneering concepts and research leading to self-healing polymers in coatings and composites.

Address to be presented before the Division of Polymer Chemistry.

Corinna Schindler, University of Michigan

Award Citation: For her work in the development of new Lewis acid-catalyzed transformations.

Address to be presented before the Division of Organic Chemistry.

Andrew L. Zydney, The Pennsylvania State University

Award Citation: For outstanding contributions to the development of membrane separation processes for purification of high-value biological products, including work on ultrafiltration, membrane fouling, and shear-induced diffusion.

Address to be presented before the Division of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 

Teri W. Odom, Northwestern University

Award Citations: For her outstanding accomplishments in the design of nanoscale surface structures that exhibit exceptional chemical and optical properties.

Address to be presented before the Division of Colloid & Surface Chemistry.

 David B. Mitzi, Duke University

Award Citation: For pioneering contributions to the discovery, fundamental chemistry, processing, and application of halide perovskite semiconductors, including the demonstration of high-performance hybrid organic-inorganic electronic devices.

Address to be presented before the Division of Inorganic Chemistry.  

Abraham Nitzan, University of Pennsylvania and Tel Aviv University, Israel

Award Citation: For his seminal contributions to condensed-phase chemical dynamics, including the theory of surface-enhanced Raman scattering and the modern theory of charge and energy transport.

Address to be presented before the Division of Physical Chemistry.

Janet L. Bryant, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (retired)

Award Citation: For her holistic and strategic approach to volunteerism, unwavering commitment to empowering chemists, and proven track record of translating goals and needs into tangible actions.

Address to be presented before the ACS ChemLuminary Awards Ceremony at the fall national meeting in San Francisco, CA.

Kevan M. Shokat, University of California, San Francisco and University of California, Berkeley

Award Citation: For the development of chemical tools and drug candidates that precisely regulate individual kinases and GTPases to re-wire signaling pathways in cancer.

Address to be presented before the Division of Biological Chemistry.

Wendy B. Young, Genentech

Award Citation: For inspired leadership of scientists resulting in discovery of novel molecules, clinical compounds, and marketed drugs that address some of the world’s most difficult illnesses.

Address to be presented before the Division of Medicinal Chemistry. 

Donald Hilvert, ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Award Citation: For his creative contributions to de novo design and characterization of protein catalysts, which are landmarks in biomimetic chemistry.

Address to be presented before the Division of Biological Chemistry.

Amir H. Hoveyda, University of Strasbourg, France and Boston College

Award Citation: For his development of catalytic methods for chemical synthesis, most notably for olefin metathesis and enantioselective generation of fully substituted tetrahedral stereogenic centers.

Address to be presented before the Division of Organic Chemistry.

Gunda I. Georg, University of Minnesota

For her outstanding contributions as an inspiring and highly productive medicinal chemist that are impacting drug discovery and human health.

Address to be presented before the Division of Medicinal Chemistry.

Michael A. Morgan, Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School, California

Award Citation: For his work as a teacher, making it cool to be a high achiever and NErDy in inner-city Los Angeles.

Address to be presented before the Division of Chemical Education.

Dennis A. Dougherty, California Institute of Technology

Award Citation: For establishing the cation-π interaction as a key noncovalent binding force in chemistry and biology.

Address to be presented before the Division of Organic Chemistry at the Arthur C. Cope & Arthur C. Cope Scholar Symposium at the fall national meeting in San Francisco, CA.

Sarah E. Reisman, California Institute of Technology

Award Citation: For her extraordinary and creative contributions to the field of natural product total synthesis.

Address to be presented before the Division of Organic Chemistry. 

Daniel J. Mindiola, University of Pennsylvania

Award Citation: For developing innovative synthetic methods affording complexes containing multiple bonds between carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus and the earliest transition metals, and for their unique reactivity.  

Address to be presented before the Division of Inorganic Chemistry. 

Laura Gagliardi, University of Minnesota

Award Citation: For her leadership in developing and applying quantum mechanical electronic structure methods to multiconfigurational problems in bonding, catalysis, and inorganometallic chemistry.

Address to be presented before the Division of Physical Chemistry.

Kimberly A. Prather, University of California, San Diego

Award Citation: For her creative and groundbreaking research in the development of mass spectrometry for the analysis of atmospheric aerosols at the single-particle level.

Address to be presented before the Division of Physical Chemistry.

Caroline Chick Jarrold, Indiana University, Bloomington

Award Citation: For her outstanding service to chemistry, with particular emphasis on promoting diversity and inclusion of women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community.

Address to be presented before the Division of Physical Chemistry.

Raychelle Burks, American University

Award Citation: For her leadership and impact, acting on and showing the way outreach can be performed, which are unrivaled in the field of chemistry.

Address to be presented before the Office of the Secretary, at the ACS fall national meeting in San Francisco.

Hemamala Karunadasa, Stanford University

Award Citation: For her outstanding accomplishments on obtaining structural control over the photophysics of new halide perovskites: from white-light emitters to solar-cell absorbers.

Address to be presented before the Division of Inorganic Chemistry. 

Tadeusz  (Ted) F. Molinski, University of California, San Diego

Award Citation: For his outstanding contributions to the chemical synthesis, structure elucidation, and understanding of the biological chemistry of marine natural products.

Address to be presented before the Division of Organic Chemistry.  

Paul Schimmel, Scripps Research

Award Citation: For co-founding more than ten biotech companies and aiding others as board member, director, and scientific advisor for nearly three decades.

Address to be presented before the Division of Biological Chemistry.

Kenneth S. Suslick, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Award Citation: For his exploration of sonoluminescence and its use as a spectroscopic probe of acoustic cavitation in liquids and the chemical effects thereof.

Address to be presented before the Division of Physical Chemistry.

Alanna Schepartz, University of California, Berkeley

Award Citation: For pioneering and creative development and application of alpha- and beta-peptides to explore and expand the chemistry in biology.

Address to be presented before the Division of Biological Chemistry.

Barry Arkles, Gelest, Inc.

Award Citation: For contributions to basic and applied research and education in silicon chemistry and creation and commercialization of new materials by the two companies he founded.

Address to be presented before the Division of Polymer Chemistry.

Veronica Vaida, University of Colorado, Boulder

Award Citation: For original contributions revealing fundamental organic photo-reactions at water interfaces in planetary systems, including the contemporary and ancient Earth.

Address to be presented before the Division of Physical Chemistry.

Michael R. Wasielewski, Northwestern University

Award Citation: For fundamental discoveries on the photophysics and photochemistry of electron transfer in molecules and materials.

Address to be presented before the Division of  Physical Chemistry.

Enrique Iglesia, University of California, Berkeley and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Award Citation: For outstanding contributions to chemistry and engineering concepts with broad impact on the practice of catalytic transformations.

Address to be presented before the Division of Catalysis Science and Technology.

Herbert Mayr, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany

Award Citation: For the development of a general organizing principle of polar organic reactivity based on nucleophilicity and electrophilicity scales.

Address to be presented before the Division of Organic Chemistry.

Harold H. Kung, Northwestern University

Award Citation: For his pioneering elucidation of relationships between catalytic synthesis, structure, selectivity, and activity and innovative applications of catalysis to hydrocarbon chemistry and efficient resource utilization.

Address to be presented before the Division of Energy & Fuels.

Thomas J. Wenzel, Bates College

Award Citation: For promoting the value of undergraduate research and the inclusion of collaborative learning and project-based laboratory experiences in the undergraduate curriculum.

Address to be presented before the Division of Chemical Education. 

Sue Brannon Clark, Washington State University & Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Award Citation: For seminal contributions to research on radioanalytical chemistry, fission products, and naturally occurring radionuclides, and international applications to radioactive waste, environmental cleanup, and nuclear security.

Address to be presented before the Division of Nuclear Chemistry & Technology.

David Milstein, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Award Citation: For his design and development of novel environmentally benign catalytic reactions for the green synthesis of key families of organic compounds, and for hydrogen storage.

Address to be presented before the Division of Catalysis Science & Technology.

Saiful Islam, University of Bath, United Kingdom

Award Citation: For his outstanding contributions to the fundamental atomistic understanding of new materials for energy storage and conversion devices, including lithium batteries and perovskite solar cells.

Address to be presented before the Division of Energy & Fuels.

Angela M. Gronenborn, University of Pittsburgh

Award Citation: For pioneering work on the development of NMR spectroscopy for determining 3-D structures of biological macromolecules in solution and extraordinary service to the chemistry community.

Address to be presented before the Division of Physical Chemistry.

Olga Smirnova, Max-Born Institute & Berlin Institute of Technology, Germany

Award Citation: For pioneering contributions in attosecond strong-field physics, including attosecond high harmonic spectroscopy of electron dynamics and the discovery of electron spin polarization during optical tunneling.

Address to be presented before the Division of Physical Chemistry.

Kyle M. Lancaster, Cornell University

Award Citation: For contributing key mechanistic insights into biological ammonia oxidation and elucidating electronic structure principles underpinning base-metal catalysis.

Address to be presented before the Division of Inorganic Chemistry.