Awards: Celebrating Green Chemistry and Sustainability

In 2023, Q-ACS collected nominations for the official ACS Undergraduate Award in Chemical Safety and Ethics; this award is supported by the ACS Committee on Ethics (ETHX) and the Division of Chemical Health and Safety (CHAS). Q-ACS was delighted to submit Kayla Elliott as the nominee from Queen’s University, and ACS approved the nomination in June 2023. As part of the award, Kayla received a digital certificate, a letter of recognition from the Chairs of ETHX and CHAS as well as a certificate, and a one-year membership in the Division of Chemical Health and Safety. Via the generosity of our supporters, Q-ACS presented Kayla with a printed, framed certificate at the 2024 Reception event, along with a $50 CAD Visa gift card. 

For the second year in a row, Q-ACS implemented the official ACS Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Recognition Program (GSPSRP) in 2023 in the Department of Chemistry. Q-ACS collected and scored nominations from the department in the three GSPSRP categories at both the graduate student and postdoctoral scholar levels. The three categories are: 1) Leadership in Mentoring 2) Leadership in the Promotion of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect (DEIR) and 3) Leadership in the Promotion of Research Safety. After scoring the nominations, Q-ACS submitted recommendations to the ACS, who approved the following individuals to receive 2023 GSPSRP awards:  

1. Leadership in Mentoring (Graduate Student): Emerson MacNeil  

2. Leadership in Mentoring (Postdoctoral Scholar): Dr. Goonay Yousefalizadeh 

3. Leadership in the Promotion of DEIR (Graduate Student): Dr. Parimah Aminfar, *At the time of the award, Dr. Aminfar was still a graduate student.  

4. Leadership in the Promotion of Research Safety (Graduate Student): Adekunle Omoboye  

5. Though the awards were approved in 2023, Q-ACS presented the awards at the reception in March 2024. The ACS provided each recipient with a digital certificate, and through the generosity of our supporters, Q-ACS was able to print and frame the certificates, as well as provide each recipient with a $50 CAD Visa gift card. 

In addition to the GSPSRP awards, Q-ACS also presented three Excellence Awards. In 2024, the call for nominations was extended to include both the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. The Q-ACS Excellence Awards program was modeled on the official ACS Salutes to Excellence Awards program. During the Winter 2024 term, Q-ACS collected nominations for the following three awards: 1) Excellence Award in 4th-Year Project Mentoring 2) Excellence Award in Green Chemistry and Sustainability (Graduate Student) and 3) Excellence Award in Green Chemistry and Sustainability (Postdoctoral Scholar). Based on the submitted nominations, Kennedy Quigg (Chemistry) was selected to receive the Excellence Award in 4th-Year Project Mentoring. Next, based on the submitted nominations, Raz Abbasi (Chemical Engineering) was selected to receive the Excellence Award in Green Chemistry and Sustainability (Graduate Student). Finally, based on the submitted nominations, Dr. Anh Tran Ly (Chemical Engineering) was selected to receive the Excellence Award in Green Chemistry and Sustainability (Postdoctoral Scholar). This year, the award included an engraved trophy and a $50 CAD Visa gift card, thanks to the generosity of our supporters.

Left-to-right: Adekunle Omoboye [ACS GSPSRP – Research Safety (Graduate Student) recipient], Kayla Elliott (ACS UG Award in Chemical Safety & Ethics recipient), Emerson MacNeil [ACS GSPSRP – Mentorship (Graduate Student) recipient], Dr. Philip Jessop (Head/Full Professor in Queen’s Chemistry), Raz Abbasi [Excellence Award in Green Chemistry and Sustainability (Graduate Student) recipient], Dr. Parimah Aminfar [ACS GSPSRP – Promotion of DEIR (Graduate Student) recipient], and Kennedy Quigg (Excellence Award in 4th-Year Project Mentoring recipient)