More than 300,000 different metals, plastics, coatings, cements and other forms of material create the important underpinnings of our modern society. In recognition of the vital role that scientists at universities and other research institutions play in advancing chemistry and material sciences research, AkzoNobel, in collaboration with the American Chemical Society (ACS), launched a major new science award at a meeting of the ACS.

The new biennial AkzoNobel North America Science Award aims to recognize outstanding scientific contributions by an individual in the fields of chemistry and materials research conducted in the United States or Canada. The award winner, to be announced in February 2013, will receive a $75,000 cash prize honoring their achievements. The call for nominations will be conducted online at the ACS website—www.akzonobel.acs.org—and will be open from March 28, 2012 through June 22, 2012.

While AkzoNobel will provide the funding, nomination guidelines and the scope of the areas of science covered by the award, the ACS will have an independent role in administering the award process and selecting the AkzoNobel North America Science Award recipient.

A presentation of the 2013 AkzoNobel North America Science Award will be made at the ACS’s 245th National Meeting & Exposition held April 7-11, 2013 in New Orleans, La., United States, where the ACS typically recognizes more than 60 scientists and engineers with 56 of its national awards.

“Materials are the substances that make up everything in the world that we use, touch, see and experience in everyday life,” said Bassam Z. Shahashiri, Ph.D., ACS’ 2012 president. “Research in materials science has triggered creative waves of invention and innovation, and prompted technological breakthroughs that once were inconceivable. AkzoNobel’s generosity and foresight will recognize those achievements and foster further progress in the years ahead.”

The AkzoNobel Science Award was first bestowed in the Netherlands in 1970, and then extended to Sweden (1999), China (2010) and the United Kingdom (2012). Now it is being further extended to North America with an award in 2013.

”For more than 40 years, the AkzoNobel Science Award has recognized individuals for their innovative contributions to scientific research,” said Dale Steichen, vice president of research, development and innovation for AkzoNobel in North America.” We are proud to now bring this award to North America and honor those who are undertaking big, bold research that may help deliver tomorrow’s answers today.”

Guided by the principles and practices of sustainable chemistry, the AkzoNobel North America Science Award is bestowed for scientific research with proven or potential significant societal or user benefits in one of the following fields of chemistry or materials science:

• The design and development of new routes for the synthesis and transformation of molecules (including monomers, oligomers and polymers); methods for their assembly into macromolecular structures; the modification and functionalization of polymers; and the understanding and control of the composition, architecture, stereochemistry and functionality of macromolecular systems;

• Understanding of the micro- and nano-structures of materials which determine their morphological, mechanical, thermal, electronic, optical and transport properties; and the design, creation and processing of complex fluids and ‘soft’ solids derived from an understanding of the colloid science, rheology and molecular associations of the systems involved;

• The adaptation of chemical transformations and their translation from the laboratory bench scale into production-scale processes; and the development and optimization of unit operations such as mixing, dispersion, emulsification, separation, purification as well as methods for modeling and controlling unit operations and overall processes; and

• Developments in the use of physical, chemical and biological techniques and methods to characterize and understand the composition, structure and performance of materials, chemical products and processes.

A call for nominations will be issued biennially in Chemical & Engineering News, ACS’s weekly news magazine, on the ACS website at www.akzonobel.acs.org, and through the relevant ACS technical divisions.

For more information, visit www.akzonobel.com/scienceawards.
.