Nomination Requirements & Timeline
Are you nominating someone for an ACS National Award? The following table outlines what you need to include with your submission. You can also view a timeline of the nomination period.
| Contact Information | For the nominator*, nominee, and support letter writers. This information can be searched in the online system by name or member number. If the nominee is a non-member, the contact information can be entered in the online database by selecting 'Create New Nominee'. This option will appear after the nominee’s name has been entered. Please include their prefix (Dr., Mr., Mrs., etc.), organization, job title, full address, email address, and telephone number(s). |
| Citation (25 words or less) | Include a description of the work that can be inscribed on the award certificate (i.e. For his or her outstanding accomplishments in the field of ...). |
| Recommendation Letter (750 words or less) | Describe why the nominee’s accomplishments should receive the award. The letter should describe the nominee's work and how it is aligned with the purpose, eligibility, and/or criteria of the award, the impact on the discipline, the significance (scientific or otherwise) of this effort, and the benefits to the Society. |
| Biographical sketch | Brief biographical sketch (2 pages) that focuses on the award and selection committee criteria. If the award requires degree and date information, please include it here. Do not include a list of publications and patents. |
| List of Nominee’s Most Significant Publications and Patents (20 maximum) | Address the general area of the Award’s purpose. (For the ACS Award for Creative Invention, a copy of the patent must be submitted with the nominating documents.) |
| Support letter (400 words or less) | One support letter is required. A second support letter is optional but strongly encouraged. Support letter writers are not required to be members of the Society. The supporter's contact information should be included in the letter, preferably on letterhead. To assist the selection committee in its deliberations, the support letter(s) should contain information not addressed in the recommendation letter. The support letter(s) should clearly describe the impact of the work on the discipline, the significance of the research findings, and the way the award’s purpose and criteria have been met. |
* The author of the recommendation letter is the nominator; therefore enter this individual’s contact information in the database as the nominator.
Procedure & Timeline
- July 1 – November 1 each year is the open period for nominations. Completed nominations are submitted online at www.nominate.acs.org.
- From January through July of the following year, the Office of Awards and Programs vets the nominations and the National Award Selection Committees review the nominations.
- The ACS President will contact all recipients to inform them that he or she has been named the recipient of the award once the review process is complete. An official letter of congratulations will also be sent to each recipient.
- The recipients are officially announced in the Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN), typically during the week of the ACS Fall Meeting.
- Each recipient is required to deliver an address on the scientific work that is being recognized by the award during the ACS Spring Meeting. The presentation will be given in a designated division or a division appropriate for the award depending on the eligibility requirements of the award. A complete list of options is available at ACS Technical Divisions.
- The award will be presented to the recipient at the ACS Spring Meeting during the National Awards Banquet and Ceremony and General Meeting of the Society. The Arthur C. Cope Scholar Awards will be presented during a symposium at the ACS Fall Meeting.
Other Information
Nominating a Team for an Individual Award
Nominations of more than one individual for a National Award not labelled as a team award are acceptable, but the sharing of the award will be permitted only in exceptional cases and requires prior approval from the sponsor and the ACS Board Committee on Professional & Member Relations. Please send your request to awards@acs.org before submitting the nomination.
Posthumous Awards
Posthumous awards will be made only when knowledge of the individual's death is received after the recipient has been announced. Nominations of individuals known to be deceased are not accepted.
The nomination period for the 2025 National Awards closed on November 1, 2023. The winners will be announced in August 2024 in Chemical & Engineering News.
July 1, 2023
Nomination Period for 2025 National Awards Opens
August - September 2023
2024 National Award Winners Announced
October 2023 - April 2024
2025 Selection Committee
Appointment Process
November 1, 2023
Nomination Period for 2025 National Awards Closes
January - July 2024
Vetting of Submitted Nominations and 2025 Selection Committee Review Process
March 2024
National Awards Banquets and Ceremony Recognizing the 2024 National Award Winners
