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:
- 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.
- 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.
- A letter signed by the applicant’s research supervisor and verifying that the student meets the requirements of the Graduate Student Award.
- A copy of one published paper that represents the applicant’s most significant research accomplishments.
- 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
- All applications must be complete and received by July 1, and Recipients will be notified before November 1.
- Selection of an awardee will be based upon the information included in the application package.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1st: Anna Lehrhofer | BOKU Vienna |
| 2nd: Xia Sun | University of British Columbia | |
| 2025 | 1st: Xun Niu | University of British Columbia |
| 2nd: Maria-Ximena Ruiz-Caldas | Stockholm University | |
| 2024 | 1st: Yuhang Ye | University of British Columbia |
| 2nd: Daniela Wloch | Imperial College London | |
| 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
2026 Graduate Student Awards
As usual, we have an amazingly talented pool of 20 candidates for the 2026 CELL Division Graduate Student Award and the selection was tough. After ...
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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.
Vision and Mission