The Anselme Payen Award 

in recognition of  

Excellence in the Science and Chemical Technology  of Cellulose or Renewable Materials Research

WHAT IS IT?

An annual award sponsored by the Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division of the American Chemical Society.

This award is named for Anselme Payen, a  distinguished French scientist, discoverer of cellulose, and pioneer in the chemistry of both cellulose and lignin. He was the first to attempt separation of wood into its constituent parts. After treating different woods with nitric acid he obtained a fibrous substance common to all and which he also found in cotton as well as other plants. His analysis revealed the chemical formula of the substance to be C₆H₁₀O₅. He reported this discovery and the first analytical results in a classic paper which appeared   in Comptes Rendus in 1838. The name "cellulose" was coined and introduced into the scientific literature in 1839.

The Anselme Payen Award, which includes a bronze medal and an honorarium of $3,000., is given by the Cellulose, and Renewable Material Division of the American Chemical Society to honor and encourage outstanding professional contributions to the science and chemical technology of cellulose and its allied products.

The Anselme Payen Award is an international award. Any scientist conducting cellulose related research is eligible for nomination. Selection of the awardee is based upon an evaluation of the nomination packages  submitted on behalf of potential awardees. These documents are individually ranked by a panel of nine judges who are appointed by the current Chair-Elect and are unknown to each other. Three judges rotate off the panel each year. The identity of all members is known only to the Chair of the awards committee who compiles the results. After the awardee accepts, the Chair of the Awards Committee announces the winner at the next Spring ACS meeting. The awardee for that year is honored at the following Spring ACS meeting at a Symposium and Banquet. The award bears the year the winner was announced. It is presented the following year to allow time for organization of the Symposium and Banquet.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

Any graduate student studying the chemical nature of cellulose, paper, textiles and other renewable materials. This includes, but is not limited to,

• study of the biosynthesis of biomass components and natural fibers,
•  novel chemical  routes for separating biomass into its constituent components, 
• innovative processes for converting biomass, its individual components, or natural fibers into value-added products, and 
• the development of new analytical techniques for characterizing the chemical properties of cellulose, paper and textile fibers.

The competition is open to students at graduate research programs in North America.
The applicant must either be currently enrolled or have graduated with the past year.

HOW DO I APPLY?

Submit an application package to the ACS Division Awards Chair. The Application package consists of the following:

1. A cover letter stating 
• the applicant's personal information i.e. full name, address, daytime telephone number, fax number, e-mail address and social security number.
• title of research activity, 
• graduate school attended, 
• research supervisor's name and 
• research committee members' names.
2. A paper suitable for publication that represents the applicant's most significant graduate research accomplishment. The applicant must be the principal author of this paper.
3. A summary document describing the applicant's research contributions and defining how that work fits into the current state-of-the-art (3-5 pages).
4. A letter signed by the applicant's research supervisor and verifying that the student meets the requirements of the Graduate Student Award.

THE SELECTION PROCESS

1. All applications must be complete by October 1 and the Recipient will be notified by December 1.
2. Selection of an awardee will be based upon the information included in the application package. 
3. All applications will be reviewed by a panel composed of three representatives from academic or federal research institutions and two representatives elected by Eastman Chemical Company.  The academic / federal research institute panel members will be selected by the ACS CELL Division Awards Chair.

THE AWARD

The Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Cellulose or Renewable Materials Research consists of a check for $2,000 and an individual plaque honoring their accomplishment. The recipient will be invited to attend the following Spring ACS meeting and deliver an oral presentation describing their work.

WHERE DO I SUBMIT MY NOMINATION?

Submit the completed Nomination package to:

Dr. Stephen S. Kelley
Awards Committee Chair
National Bioenergy Center
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
1617 Cole Boulevard
Golden, CO  80401
Phone:  (303) 384-6123
FAX:     (303) 384-6363
E-mail:  steve_kelley@nrel.gov

Recipients of the Anselme Payen Award 

 Companies Contributing to the Anselme Payen Award Fund

* Contributed twice. 

The Societe de Chimie Biologique and the membership of the Division have contributed funds for the creation of a mold for the Anselme Payen award medal.

 Page last modified September 2, 2003
by W. T. Winter < wtwinter@syr.edu >