Mitch Jacoby recognized with prestigious ACS chemistry communications award

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2022 — The American Chemical Society (ACS) announces Mitch Jacoby, Ph.D., is the 2023 recipient of the prestigious James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public. He is being recognized for consistently providing outstanding written and audiovisual journalism, which significantly enhances our fellow citizens’ understanding of chemistry, chemical engineering and scientists in the field.

This ACS national award is presented annually to recognize, encourage and stimulate outstanding reporting directly to the public, which materially increases the public's knowledge and understanding of chemistry, chemical engineering and related fields.

Jacoby, a senior correspondent for Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), has worked at the publication since 1997 in a variety of positions. Over the years he has written more than 500 articles, including nearly 50 cover stories. In addition to his engaging and understandable articles, Jacoby does his own notable photography for the stories and has produced numerous videos, podcasts and books. C&EN is an independent news outlet of ACS.

Three titans of chemistry share their accolades of Jacoby. They are each uniquely distinguished in their respective fields of chemistry, and all are past recipients of the highest award ACS bestows, the Priestley Medal.

Tobin Marks, Ph.D., the Vladimir N. Ipatieff professor of chemistry and professor of material science and engineering at Northwestern University, notes Jacoby’s amazing gift for translating complex chemistry topics into plain English for the general public, thereby facilitating people’s understanding of the role chemistry plays in everyday life.

Gabor Somorjai, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and Peter Stang, Ph.D., distinguished professor of chemistry at the University of Utah, also offer glowing remarks about Jacoby’s work. Somorjai applauds Jacoby’s unmatched ability to form analogies that make complex ideas readily understandable, while Stang recognizes Jacoby as a superb journalist and chemistry communicator with a strong track record of explaining key scientific advances.

Jacoby received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Northwestern University and his bachelor’s in chemistry from Cleveland State University. Using his multiple talents and storytelling skills, Jacoby clearly and concisely describes the breadth of scientific discoveries in the short format required by a news magazine such as C&EN.

The Grady-Stack award consists of $5,000, a medallion and a certificate. The award will be presented to Jacoby at the national awards ceremony at ACS Spring 2023 in Indianapolis.

Nominations for the 2024 Grady-Stack award are being accepted through Nov. 1, 2022. A nominee must have made noteworthy presentations through a medium of public communication to increase the American public's understanding of chemistry and chemical progress. The award will be granted regardless of race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, presence of disabilities and educational background.