2026 Dreyfus Events at the ACS Spring Meeting
The Dreyfus Foundation has organized two sessions at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia on March 23, 2026. Both sessions will focus on electrochemical processes – the topic of the 2025 Dreyfus Prize. These sessions are open to all attendees of the Meeting.
The distinguished speakers are Héctor D. Abruña (Cornell University), winner of the 2025 Dreyfus Prize, Esther Takeuchi (Stony Brook University), and Gleb Yushin (Georgia Tech).
A reception will follow. Please see below for additional details. For up-to-date information, including how to attend, visit the ACS meeting website.
Powering New Ideas: A Dreyfus Prize Winner’s Journey in Electrochemistry
Renowned electrochemist Héctor D. Abruña (“Tito”) reflects on the defining moments that shaped his distinguished career and scientific vision. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Abruña’s interest in chemistry began early—experimenting with a home “Gilbert” chemistry set, visiting Cornell’s Arecibo Observatory, and accompanying his father, a soil chemist, to the laboratory. Encouraged by devoted teachers, especially his high school chemistry teacher, Bro. Frances Oulette, he set out on a lifelong path in science.
His journey—from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, postdoctoral work at the University of Texas, a brief (1.5 years) stay at the University of Puerto Rico, and, ultimately, Cornell University, where he has been a faculty member for more than forty years—has been guided by curiosity, persistence, and a drive to connect science with real-world impact.
Now the Émile M. Chamot Professor and Director of the Center for Alkaline-Based Energy Solutions, Abruña’s current work focuses the development and characterization of new materials using a wide variety of techniques, for fuel cells, electrolyzers, and batteries. His enduring commitment to Puerto Rico is reflected in the Abruña Energy Initiative, which is developing and deploying a resilient, hydrogen and battery based grid for Vieques after Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017. He has made mentorship central to his work, shaping the next generation of scientists.
This session, sponsored by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation and moderated by its President H. Scott Walter and Chair of the Scientific Affairs Committee Milan Mrksich (Northwestern University) will feature a fifteen-minute presentation followed by a thirty-minute audience discussion. Abruña is the 2025 recipient of the Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences, the Foundation’s highest honor.
The Future of Electrical Energy Generation and Storage: Fuel Cells, Electrolyzers, and Batteries
What breakthroughs will define the next generation of electrical energy generation and storage? As advances in electrochemistry accelerate, researchers are rethinking how energy is produced, stored, and used—from molecular-scale reactions to grid-scale systems. This session will bring together three pioneering scientists to discuss new advances in fuel cells, electrolyzers, and battery science—from novel materials and smarter designs to longer-lasting systems—that are reshaping clean energy, electric vehicles, portable electronics, biomedical devices, and other technologies that power daily life.
Héctor D. Abruña, Émile M. Chamot Professor at Cornell University, has revolutionized our fundamental understanding of electrochemical interfaces and continues to perform cutting-edge work studying fuel cells, electrolyzers, and battery systems. Esther Takeuchi, William and Jane Knapp Chair of Energy and the Environment at Stony Brook University, invented the lithium–silver vanadium oxide battery that powers implantable medical devices and now leads research in advanced energy storage for health, transportation, and renewable power. Gleb Yushin, Professor at Georgia Tech and co-Founder and CTO of Sila Nanotechnologies, has pioneered synthesis of nanostructured silicon/carbon (Si/C) composites and other nanostructured materials for Li-ion batteries that bypass their macro-scale limitations for world-wide use in clean energy storage, electronics, drones, robots and electric transportation.
This session is sponsored by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation and inspired by the theme of the 2025 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences, Electrochemical Processes, which was awarded to Abruña. It will feature three fifteen-minute presentations followed by an audience discussion, moderated by the Foundation’s Senior Scientific Advisor Matthew Tirrell (University of Chicago) and Board Member Katharine Walter (University of Utah).
Announcing the Topic for the 2027 Dreyfus Prize
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation has selected Chemical Probes of Biological Systems as the topic of the 2027 Dreyfus Prize.
The development of probes to understand biological function, particularly in the context of cells or organisms, is an important discipline in the chemical sciences. Advances in this area of chemical biology, which are distinct from the development of imaging technologies, have revealed the functions of biological molecules such as proteins, glycans, and nucleic acids; the regulation of pathways; and an understanding of disease mechanisms.
“The Foundation is proud to recognize the field of chemical biology by selecting Chemical Probes of Biological System as its 2027 Dreyfus Prize topic,” said Milan Mrksich of Northwestern University, Chair of the Dreyfus Foundation Scientific Affairs Committee. “The Prize will honor an individual who has made major contributions to the design and use of chemical probes for understanding the chemistry of life.”
The Dreyfus Prize recognizes an individual for exceptional and original research in a selected area of chemistry that has advanced the field in a major way. The Prize consists of a monetary award of $250,000, a medal, and a certificate.
For further details on the 2027 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences, including eligibility and the nomination procedure, please visit the Dreyfus Prize webpage. The deadline for nominations is December 3, 2026.
Dreyfus Foundation 2025 Year in Review
We invite you to read The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation’s 2025 Year in Review, which is now available online.
The publication spotlights the Foundation’s major accomplishments and milestones such as:
- The announcement of the 2027 Dreyfus Prize Topic;
- The 2025 Dreyfus Prize Celebration of Héctor D. Abruña;
- The Supplemental Grants for Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars Program;
- Two new videos from the Chemistry Shorts film series;
- And 2026 award programs and deadlines.
Read the entire report by clicking here or on the cover image below.
Our New Look!
The Foundation is pleased to share our new brand identity with this issue of the Year in Review. Over the past year, we’ve worked with the design firm Small Universe to refresh everything – from our logo to our website – maintaining the Foundation’s roots in its storied history while looking to the future. The rollout will continue over the coming months, but, for now, please enjoy this first look.
In Memoriam: Louis Brus
It is with great sympathy that we share the news that Dr. Louis Brus, Samuel Latham Mitchill Professor Emeritus and Special Research Scientist at Columbia University, passed away on January 11. Dr. Brus was a long-time Advisor and reviewer for the Foundation, as well as a speaker at many Teacher-Scholar Symposia. Among his many awards and honors, he received the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots,” nanosized particles with unique properties used in everything from televisions to LED bulbs. He will be missed.
Chemistry Shorts Releases New Film on Organic Chemistry
The Dreyfus Foundation-sponsored Chemistry Shorts® series released its newest film, “Changing Key and Chemistry,” featuring Professor Dr. Neil Garg from UCLA. Professor Garg shows us that organic chemistry can be understood much like music — one key, one scale, and one step at a time. Each atom in a molecule is like a note in a melody: once you learn the basic components, you can put them together in infinite combinations from the simplest molecules to the most complicated symphonies.
In the second act of the film, Professor Garg explains how scientists have re-orchestrated natural molecules to solve big problems. For instance, by slightly tweaking a chemical found in yew trees, scientists created the cancer-fighting drug taxol. Listening to nature with a well-tuned ear allows us to compose brand-new masterpieces.
In the final act, Professor Garg reminds us that scientific progress often begins when someone plays off-script:
“And I’m always reminded, although we need to use these rules to teach students, that we also just as much teach them that these are rules based on what we know now. And without you challenging those rules, solving problems, creating things, making new discoveries, we don’t advance society.” – Professor Garg
Professor Garg’s recent headline-making work on anti-Bredt olefins showed that even century-old chemistry rules are made to be broken as we expand our scientific understanding.
In the lab, the classroom, and now the screen, Professor Garg conducts learners with excitement and passion, encouraging them to not just practice the scales of organic chemistry, but improvise beyond the score.
The film is available for immediate viewing and use in teaching free of charge on the Chemistry Shorts YouTube channel. Teaching materials related to the film can be found at: https://garg.chem.ucla.edu/ug-education