Planting the seeds of future award recipients

Awards in chemistry serve multiple purposes. They recognize individual achievement and provide inspiration to other chemical professionals and students. They motivate scientists to engage in more challenging research and are a way to celebrate significant contributions by individual chemists or teams. Ultimately, awards reflect what the chemistry community values. Many American Chemical Society members may not be aware that part of the mission of the Committee on Science (ComSci) is to recognize outstanding chemical scientists. We do that by recommending distinguished scientists to the American Chemical Society Board of Directors to be ACS nominees for awards such as the National Medal of Science, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences, the Grand Prix de la Fondation de la Maison de la Chimie (France), and other international prizes. For ACS Board–approved nominees, ComSci works with ACS staff and the individual scientists to assemble the