Graduate Student Award

Awards and Fellowships

Every year the Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division of the American Chemical Society, in collaboration with the Eastman Chemical Company, recognizes graduate student achievement in cellulose and renewable materials research. The first place winner will receive a check for $1,500, up to $500 for travel expenses, and a plaque honoring the recipient’s accomplishment. The award for the second place winner will consist of a check for $750, up to $500 for travel expenses and a certificate honoring the recipient’s accomplishment. The recipients will be invited to attend the following Spring ACS National Meeting and deliver an oral presentation on their awarding winning work. All graduate students currently enrolled in a graduate program (at the application deadline) and pursuing research on the chemical nature of cellulose, paper, textiles and other renewable materials are eligible.

Eligibility

All graduate students who are members of the division, enrolled in school during the spring semester prior to the application deadline (at the application deadline July 1st), and pursuing research on the chemical nature of cellulose, paper, textiles and other renewable materials are eligible.

How to Apply

The application package for the Graduate Student Award consists of:

  1. A cover letter stating the full name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address of the nominee, and in addition the title of the nominee’s research study, the graduate school attended, and name of research advisor.
  2. A summary (up to three pages in length) that documents the nominee’s research contributions and shows how the works fits into the current state of the art.
  3. A letter signed by the applicant’s research supervisor and verifying that the student meets the requirements of the Graduate Student Award.
  4. A copy of one published paper that represents the applicant’s most significant research accomplishments.
  5. A completed application form.

Submit your completed application package by email to the Division’s Awards Chair.

Please combine all five of the above items into one single PDF file, and write “CELL Graduate Student Award” as the email subject line.

The application deadline is July 1

Selection Process

  1. All applications must be complete and received by July 1, and Recipients will be notified before November 1.
  2. Selection of an awardee will be based upon the information included in the application package.
  3. All applications will be reviewed by a panel composed of three representatives from academic or federal research institutions and two representatives elected by Eastman Chemical Company. The academic or federal research institute panel members will be selected by the ACS CELL Division Awards Chair.

Past Winners

Year Awardee Institution
2023 1st: Thomas Parton University of Cambridge
2nd: Zheyuan Ding Tianjin University
2022 1st: Paul Jusner BOKU Vienna
2nd: Kudzanai Nyamayaro University of British Columbia
2021 Kazuho Daicho & Werner Schlemmer University of Tokyo & Graz University of Technology
2020 1st: Liyang Liu University of British Columbia
2nd: Valerie Garcia-Negron University of Tennessee
2019 1st: Nele Zwirchmayr BOKU Vienna
2nd: Prodyut Dhar Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
2018 1st: Katrin Niegelhell TU Graz
2nd: Zhiyu Xia University of Massachusetts Lowell
2017 1st: Yifan Dong Virginia Tech
2nd: Thi Hoang Ha Nguyen University of Florida
2016 1st: Xiangtao Meng Virginia Tech
2nd: Stephen Spinella New York University & University de Mons
2015 Mohd. Mahdi Hasani-Sadrabadi Georgia Institute of Technology
2014 Christopher M. Lee Penn State University
2013 Haoyu Liu Virginia Tech
2012 Daiqiang Xu Virginia Tech
2011 James M. Dugan University of Manchester
2010 Justin O. Zoppe NC State University
2009 Anand P. Mangalam Oregon State University
2008 Chunhui Xiang Cornell University
2007 Jacob D. Goodrich SUNY
2006 Lambrini Adamopoulos NC State University
2005 Maria Grondahl Chalmers University of Technology
2004 William Tze University of Maine
2003 Richard P. Chandra Institute of Paper Science and Technology
2002 Catherine D. Edgar McGill University
2001 Fadi S. Chakar Institute of Paper Science and Technology
2000 Aldwin Anterola Washington State University
1999 Brian Brogdon Institute of Paper Science and Technology
1998 David R. Gang Washington State University

Recent Winners

2023 ACS CELL Division Graduate Student Award

We have an amazing pool of candidates for the 2023 CELL Division Graduate Student Award this year and the selection was tough. Our panel of …

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Funding

Funding for the award is provided through a significant contribution from Eastman Chemical Company with additional support from the Division and the following individual contributors: Dr. Helena L. Chum, Dr. Wolfgang G. Glasser, Dr. Stephen S. Kelly, and other anonymous supporters.

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Vision and Mission
Inspiring bio-based solutions for a sustainable future.
Leading and supporting innovation in cellulose & renewable materials by providing a forum
for our members to excel in the chemical sciences and technology.

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