At the Chapter’s “Celebrating EDII in the Chemical Sciences Event,” nine total individuals were recognized through two awards programs: 1) the official ACS Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Recognition Program (GSPSRP) and 2) the Chapter-instituted Excellence Awards program.
As an official ACS International Student Chapter, Q-ACS is able to implement the GSPSRP within the department. In 2022, 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 2022 GSPSRP awards:
Leadership in Mentoring (Graduate Student): Andre Castillo
Leadership in Mentoring (Postdoctoral Scholar): Dr. Lishen Zhang
Leadership in the Promotion of DEIR (Graduate Student): Jenny McLeod
Leadership in the Promotion of DEIR (Postdoctoral Scholar): Dr. Shideh Ahmadi
Leadership in the Promotion of Research Safety (Graduate Student): Malek Hassan
Leadership in the Promotion of Research Safety (Postdoctoral Scholar): Dr. Roberto Nolla-Saltiel
Though the awards were approved in 2022, Q-ACS presented the awards at the reception in March 2023. 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. Notably, Queen's was the only institution worldwide to have awardees at both the graduate student and postdoctoral scholar levels across all three award categories.
2022 Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholars Recognition Program Award Recipients. Pictured left-to-right: Dr. Lishen Zang (Mentorship), Dr. Roberto Nolla-Saltiel (Research Safety), Andre Castillo (Mentorship), Malek Hassan (Research Safety), Dr. Shideh Ahmadi (DEIR), and Jennifer McLeod (DEIR)
In addition to the GSPSRP awards, Q-ACS also presented its inaugural Excellence Awards; the Q-ACS Excellence Awards program was modeled on the official ACS Salutes to Excellence Awards program. During the Winter 2023 term, Q-ACS collected nominations for the following three awards: 1) Alumni Excellence 2) EDII Excellence and 3) Initiatives Excellence. Based on the submitted nominations, Dr. Alex Veinot was selected to receive the Alumni Excellence Award. Next, based on the submitted nominations, Queen’s Chemistry – Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness Society (QC-IDEAS) was selected to receive the EDII Excellence Award; this award was received by Ayden Harrison on behalf of QC-IDEAS. Finally, based on the submitted nominations, the Department of Chemistry’s Hand Sanitizer Project was selected to receive the Initiatives Excellence Award; this award was received by Dr. Richard Oleschuk on behalf of the department.
Ayden Harrison (Left) receiving a Q-ACS Excellence Award on behalf of QC-IDEAS, Dr. Richard Oleschuk (Right) receiving a Q-ACS Excellence Award on behalf of Queen’s Chemistry, and Dr. Alex Veinot (Not pictured) also received a Q-ACS Excellence Award
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