AWARDS

View Award Bylaws

Self-nominations will not be accepted.

Major changes in awards associated with physical chemistry took place in 2022. The National ACS doubled the fees associated with funding National ACS awards. Simultaneously, two longstanding National awards (the Hildebrand and Debye) lost their corporate sponsors. Due to the fee increase, the PHYS division cannot afford to provide stop-gap funding nor continue sponsoring other National Awards (like the Theory Award). As a result, the Executive Committee of the PHYS Division voted to revamp our award system. Inspired by the efforts of the former students, postdocs, and colleagues of Prof. Rick van Dyne who raised a nearly $100k endowment, the PHYS Division renamed the Early Career Award in Experimental Physical Chemistry to the Richard P. Van Duyne Early Career Award in Experimental Physical Chemistry. Using that scenario as a model, procedures for renaming other awards or establishing entirely new awards have been set, which can be found on this website under Award Bylaws. An unendowed award can be renamed or a new award created for a 3-year duration for $25k or “permanently endowed” for $100k (estimated lifetime of 15 to 20 years). Awardees of funded awards will receive a $5k honorarium and recipients of the Marsha I. Lester Award for Exemplary Impact in Physical Chemistry will receive a $10k award, both of which is comparable or larger than many National ACS awards. Under the new bylaws, funds have already been raised to extend the Theory Award as a PHYS Division award for 3-years and >$100k was raised to create the Marsha I. Lester Award for Exemplary Impact in Physical Chemistry. A fundraising campaign also netted the necessary $400k to permanently endow the Debye Award as a National ACS award. The PHYS Division, rather than spend its resources to subsidize National Awards, will instead put resources towards a fancy and exciting PHYS Award Ceremony to be held at each Fall ACS meeting. The first award ceremony took place at the Chicago Science Museum in 2021. The Executive Committee worries that the standing of physical chemistry in the larger chemistry community will suffer with the loss of National ACS awards, but a PHYS Award ceremony will be much more inclusive, allowing hundreds of physical chemists to participate each year. We hope that the PHYS Award Ceremony will become the event at which to be seen each year and that the changes to the awards system proves a smart move in the long run. Details about each award are found below.

AWARD LIST

Young Investigator Awards
Nomination Deadline: April 1, 2024

Undergraduate Award in Physical Chemistry
Nomination Deadline: June 2024

Early Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry
2023 Nomination Deadline: November 7th

Jack Simons Award in Theoretical Physical Chemistry
2023 Nomination Deadline: November 7th

The ACS Award in Theoretical Chemistry

Richard Van Duyne Early Career Award in Experimental Physical Chemistry
2023 Nomination Deadline: November 7th

Award in Experimental Physical Chemistry
2023 Nomination Deadline: November 7th

Marsha I. Lester Award for Exemplary Impact in Physical Chemistry
2023 Nomination Deadline: November 7th

National ACS Awards Co-sponsored by the Division of Physical Chemistry
Nomination Deadline: November 1st

National ACS Awards that often recognize the work of physical chemists /Affiliate Awards
Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology Nomination
Deadline: November 1st

Kavli Foundation Emerging Leader in Chemistry Award Nomination
Deadline: August

Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry
Deadline: November 1st

JPC/PHYS Awards
JPC/PHYS Lectureship Nomination
Deadline: end of January

JPC/PHYS Graduate Student Thesis Awards Nomination
Deadline: June 30th