The Dreyfus Foundation and American Chemical Society Announce Two New Awardees
The American Chemical Society (ACS) recently announced the winners of two Dreyfus Foundation-supported awards aimed at diversity in the chemical sciences as part of their 2026 National Award Winners.
The 2026 ACS-Dreyfus Award for Encouraging Underrepresented and Economically Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences went to Angel A. Martí, Professor of Chemistry, Bioengineering, and Materials Science and NanoEngineering; Chair, Department of Chemistry; and Faculty Director, RESP, at Rice University. It was given “for his outstanding accomplishments in encouraging disadvantaged students into careers in Chemistry and his intense dedication toward promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion across STEM.”
The award – established in 1993 to recognize significant accomplishments by individuals in stimulating students, underrepresented in the profession, to elect careers in the chemical sciences and engineering – consists of $5,000 and a certificate. A grant of $10,000 is also made to an eligible non-profit institution, designated by the recipient, to strengthen its activities in meeting the objectives of the award.
The 2026 ACS-Dreyfus Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences went to Dr. Jean Tom, Professor of the Practice, Princeton University and Bristol Myers Squibb, retired. It was given “for exceptional mentoring, advocacy and outreach in the support of increasing the representation of women in the chemical sciences.”
The award – established in 1993 to recognize significant accomplishments by individuals who have stimulated or fostered the interest of women in chemistry, promoting their professional development as chemists or chemical engineers – consists of $5,000 and a certificate. A grant of $10,000 is also made to an eligible non-profit institution, designated by the recipient, to strengthen its activities in meeting the objectives of the award.
Both Dr. Martí and Dr. Tom will be honored at the ACS Spring 2026 Meeting in Atlanta, GA.
Supplemental Grants for Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars Program
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is proud to announce a new program open only to past grantees of our Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards program (known as the Teacher-Scholar Award prior to 1994).
The Supplemental Grants for Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars Program provides up to $50,000 to support research that needs an additional, modest infusion of funds to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion or stopping point. These Grants will enable members of our Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar community to finish discrete, high-impact projects.
The deadline for this program is September 9, 2025.
Program Overview
Grant Size: Up to $50,000
Duration: Up to one year from early November 2025.
Eligibility: Open to all recipients of the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (known as the Teacher-Scholar Award prior to 1994) whose Award period has ended and who have submitted a final report.
Selection
Grants are intended to briefly accelerate critical momentum in research and help bring work to conclusion. Examples include accelerating data collection or analysis; bringing work to publication; and lab or computing expenses. This would not fund new projects or general support. Review will focus on clear research value and feasibility within one year or less. Applicants should clearly describe the circumstances that led to the urgent need for an additional grant.
Application Procedure
To ensure accessibility and fast turnaround, the application is brief and consists of:
- The online application form
- A one-page project proposal that details:
a. The work to be accomplished
b. The projected impact of the project
c. The need for additional funding - A detailed budget and budget justification (Overhead is not allowed.)
- The PI’s CV
Send all above materials by the deadline as a single PDF to: [email protected].
If you have any questions about the process, please reach out to [email protected].
Katharine S. Walter Elected to Board of Directors
Katharine S. Walter has been elected to the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Board of Directors effective April 2025.
Dr. Walter is an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Utah’s School of Medicine, where she leads the Evo-Epi Laboratory. Her group develops and applies evolutionary approaches to answer open questions about pathogen transmission and epidemiological dynamics. It focuses on tuberculosis and pathogens linked to the rapidly changing climate in the American West with a goal of directly informing public health in low-income settings. She is committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists and public health advocates. Dr. Walter received her Ph.D. at the Yale School of Public Health.
2025 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences Winner Announced
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation has announced that Héctor D. Abruña, the Émile M. Chamot Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University, is the recipient of the 2025 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences. The international biennial Prize, which includes a $250,000 award, is conferred this year in Electrochemical Processes. A public award ceremony is planned to be held at Cornell later this year.
Abruña receives this top honor for his pivotal contributions to Electrochemical Processes. He is recognized for revolutionizing the fundamental understanding of electrochemical interfaces using X-ray, TEM, and mass spectrometric methods and for the development of novel materials for electrochemical devices.
Scott Walter, President of the Dreyfus Foundation, remarked, “The Dreyfus Foundation is thrilled to celebrate the foundational accomplishments of Héctor D. Abruña in the field of Electrochemical Processes with the Foundation’s most prestigious award – the Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences.”
Photo Credit: Jason Koski/Cornell University
Abruña has developed new in-situ/operando techniques for the study of fuel cells and batteries. He has pioneered and applied techniques such as transmission electron microscopy and differential electrochemical mass spectrometry, which have proven vital to the fundamental understanding and to improving the performance and capacity of batteries and fuel cells.
Abruña is also forging new paths in the development of molecular electronics that promise to reshape electrical power grid transmission, drive device miniaturization, and create the high-performance materials needed for batteries and fuel cells. These new devices have the potential to empower the next generation of electric vehicles and aircraft.
He has demonstrated that ordered intermetallic phases exhibit extraordinary electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of small organic molecules, such as formic acid, for practical use in fuel cells. These materials, as nanoparticles, are tolerant/immune to poisoning by adsorbed CO and sulfur-containing impurities, retain their crystalline structure and electrocatalytic activity, and have been commercialized.
Abruña has developed many powerful and effective new techniques to achieve groundbreaking advances in light-emitting devices, sensors, and biosensors. He has used these techniques to synthesize and optimize fundamentally new materials with enhanced performance applications for batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors.
Abruña’s considerable repertoire of new techniques includes the use of X-ray-based methods such as surface extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), X-ray standing waves, and surface diffraction to probe electrochemical interfaces. His study of the underpotential deposition of metal monolayers onto single crystal electrode surfaces revealed key structural and compositional information vital to understanding the (phase) formation of these important materials. Abruña’s pioneering advances make it possible to visualize atomic and molecular phenomena in electrochemical systems.
“Through pioneering techniques and new materials, Abruña is driving major advances in energy storage and sustainable transportation,” stated Milan Mrksich, Chair of the Scientific Affairs Committee and Board Member of the Dreyfus Foundation, as well as Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University. “We are proud to recognize these scientific contributions with this year’s Dreyfus Prize in Electrochemical Processes.”
“Abruña’s innovations in imaging and materials development are redefining what’s possible for batteries, fuel cells, and molecular electronics,” stated Matthew Tirrell, Dreyfus Foundation Senior Scientific Advisor and Board Member, as well as D. Gale Johnson Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at The University of Chicago. “Combined with his strong support for both his students and community, he is incredibly deserving of this top honor in the field.”
Abruña is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as a Fellow of the International Society of Electrochemistry and a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society. His many awards and honors include Grahame Award of the Electrochemical Society, the Electrochemistry Award of the American Chemical Society, the Faraday Medal in Electrochemistry of the Royal Society, the Electrochimica Acta Gold Medal from the International Society of Electrochemistry, the Frumkin Memorial Medal from the International Society of Electrochemistry, the American Chemical Society’s National Award in Analytical Chemistry, and the Global Energy Prize. In 2024, he was awarded the Enrico Fermi Award, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and technology honors bestowed by the U.S. government. Working closely with his students, he is cofounder of several start-up companies in the energy space, including Factorial Energy (Dr. Yingchao Yu; Ph.D. 2014), Ecolectro (Dr. Gabriel Rodríguez-Calero; Ph.D. 2014, and Conamix (Dr. Stephen Burkhardt; Ph.D. 2012). These companies are revolutionizing and redefining the electrical energy generation and storage landscape.
At Cornell, he served as Chairman of the Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (with Geoff Coates as Associate Chair) from 2004-2008 and is currently director of CABES (Center for Alkaline Based Energy Solutions) a Dept. of Energy supported Energy Frontier Research Center.
Abruña is also deeply committed to the advancement of underrepresented groups in science through dedicated mentorship. Many of these young scientists are leading the way in transitioning society to new carbon-neutral energy sources. He was honored with Cornell’s Faculty Champion Award for these efforts. He has also been proactive in outreach to young people especially from his native Puerto Rico. Fifteen of his Ph.D. students and 44 of his Post-Docs have gone on to academic positions worldwide. He has also leveraged funding, via the Abruña Energy Initiative (along with Danielle Hanes, Dr. Paul Mutolo, and Michael Lenetsky), to develop a resilient and sustainable hydrogen-based grid for the island of Vieques (Puerto Rico), which was devastated, as was most of Puerto Rico, by Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Abruña stated, “It is a great and deeply humbling honor to be awarded the 2025 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, a storied leader in the chemical sciences. However, the real credit goes to all the people in my research group as well as collaborators, world-wide, who for the past 43 years have contributed with ideas, effort, dedication, and loyalty. The credit and merit are theirs, and I will be, most humbly, accepting the award on their behalf.”
On a more personal note, he feels enormously fortunate to have two amazing brothers, Fernando (architect in Puerto Rico) and Rubén (filmmaker in Switzerland), and a wonderful wife, Celia. Arbuña said, up in heaven, his parents Fernando and Minerva keep a close watch on all.
The Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences, initiated in 2009, is conferred in a specific area of chemistry each cycle. It is the highest honor of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation.
2025 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is pleased to announce the selection of 19 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars for 2025. These faculty are within the first five years of their academic careers, have each created an outstanding independent body of scholarship, and are deeply committed to education. Each Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar receives an unrestricted research grant of $100,000.
Ashok Ajoy
University of California, Berkeley
Quantum Sensor NMR
Connor Coley
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Molecular Design, Synthesis, and Analysis with Data Science and Machine Learning
Milan Delor
Columbia University
Realizing Lossless Energy and Information Flow in Materials and Molecules
Selvan Demir
Michigan State University
Developing Lanthanide-Based Organometallic Chemistry for Applications in Magnetism, Quantum Information Science, and Small Molecule Activation
Nicholas Jackson
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
A Chemically Transferable Coarse-Grained Electronic Structure Model for Polymers
Xinle Li
Clark Atlanta University
Sustainable Pathways to Impactful Porous Materials for Addressing Societal Challenges
Yuzhang Li
University of California, Los Angeles
Innovating Cryo-EM Tools to Accelerate Technologies in Energy and Sustainability
Martín Mosquera
Montana State University
Investigate Extended Quantum Correlations of Quantum Light and Their Effect on Molecular Chromophores
Marvin Parasram
New York University
Heteroatom Transfer Reactions Promoted by Photoexcited 1,3-Dipoles
Courtney Roberts
University of Minnesota
Taming Aryne Intermediates to Impact Medicinal Chemistry
Linsey Seitz
Northwestern University
Harnessing Dynamic Materials and Systems for Sustainable Electrocatalytic Technologies
Weixin Tang
The University of Chicago
Enzyme Engineering to Fuel Genome Editing and Therapeutics Discovery
Thao Tran Dominy
Clemson University
Chemical Bonding in Quantum Materials: Simple, Innovative Solutions for Future Energy and Information Technology
Lu Wei
California Institute of Technology
Illuminating Subcellular Biology through Functional Bond-Selective Imaging
Zachary Wickens
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Selective Synthesis Using Light and Electricity
Su-Yang Xu
Harvard University
Bridging Quantum Chemistry and Physics by Chirality
Yang Yang
University of California, Santa Barbara
New Strategies for Stereoselective Radical Biocatalysis
Huiyuan Zhu
University of Virginia
Advancing Sustainable Chemistry and Environmental Remediation with Well-Defined Materials
Aleksandr Zhukhovitskiy
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Advancing the Logic of Polymer Synthesis, Modification, and Degradation