The ACS-GHS Awards Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Local Section Awards. The awards will be presented at our annual awards banquet on Saturday, October 25, 2025.

L to R: Mike Reynolds, Hightower Award; Omar Abdelrahman, Younger Chemist Award; Yokabet Gedeon, Two Year College Award; Claire Conboy, Excellence in High School Teaching Award; Kerry Spilker, Mamie W. Moy Distinguished Service Award

We are also proud to share that three Greater Houston chemists have been announced as ACS Southwest Regional Award winners, and will be recognized at the joint SERMACS/SWERM meeting in Orlando, Florida.

L to R: Naomi Halas, Southwest Region ACS Award; Roxie Allen, E. Ann Nalley Regional Award for Volunteer Service to ACS; Heather Burgess, Southwest Regional Award for Excellence in High School Teaching

The Greater Houston Section was pleased to host a seminar and panel discussion on the topic of Careers in Chemistry, with a focus on the outlook for PUI and Community College students. Aidan Looby (Ph.D. Candidate, University of Houston) kicked off the session with a presentation outlining the various career paths open to new chemists with different levels of education, and his presentation was followed by an open panel discussion featuring Dr. Yagmur Yegin (Research Engineer) and Thanh Nguyen (Graduate Student, University of Texas at Austin), answering questions from attendees.

If you weren’t able to join the conversation live, or want to catch up on what you missed, the recording is now available to watch on our YouTube channel!

Download presentation slides here

2025 Project SEED student Hieu Huynh capped off a successful summer project with Dr. David Thompson at Sam Houston State University by presenting a poster at the ACS Fall National Meeting in Washington, DC. Hieu reports:

"Going to the ACS National Meeting was such a fun and eye-opening experience. It was my first time ever being at a conference on such a huge national scale, and I was honestly amazed by how many scientists, students, and professionals were all gathered in one place. From presenting my own poster to walking around and seeing all the different talks and exhibits, it felt exciting and inspiring. I got to meet people from all over the country, hear about their research, and really feel what it’s like to be part of the larger science community. Overall, it was an unforgettable first experience that made me even more motivated about pursuing chemistry.  

Thank you Dr Thompson and his team of graduate students from Sam Houston State University, ACS National and ACS Greater Houston Section for giving me this awesome opportunity!"

-Hieu Huynh

We're proud to share that the ACS Greater Houston Section received a ChemLuminary Award for Outstanding Performance by a Local Section (Large Size Category) at the Fall 2025 ACS National Meeting in Washington, DC!

The American Chemical Society, Greater Houston Local Section, proudly celebrated the 2025 Project SEED Summer Interns (11 students), Chemistry Olympiad winners, and Scholarship Examination awardees.

We were also honored to recognize Dr. Claire Conboy as the recipient of our Excellence in High School Chemistry Teaching award.

Our heartfelt thanks go to ACS National, the dedicated Project SEED mentors and coaches at the University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, and Houston Electron Microscopy Laboratory, as well as the parents and guardians who supported their students throughout the program.

Special thanks to St. John’s School for generously hosting us in their beautiful facility.

A big shout-out to Roxie Allen, Obiageli Nwosu (GHS Education Chair), Tai-Yen Chen, Jerry Yang, Carolyn Burnley, Gladys Cartwright, Lisa Houston, and Eme Abu (GHS Project SEED Coordinator) for their incredible support and leadership.

We look forward to doing it all again next year!

We had a fantastic time celebrating National Bourbon Day with the ACS-GHS Chemistry of Bourbon Seminar and Summer Social this past weekend. The event brought together both longtime members and many new faces, all eager to engage, learn, and connect.

A big thank you to Dr. Beth Lorsbach for delivering an insightful and engaging seminar that blended chemistry with storytelling. The guided bourbon tasting was a highlight, and early feedback has been incredibly positive. Attendees especially enjoyed the curated selections and learning the science behind each pour.

We are grateful to everyone who joined us and helped make the evening such a success. Looking forward to more opportunities to bring the Greater Houston chemistry community together.

Dr. Heather Domjan and Dr Lionel Ronduen of SEFH Houston, and the amazing students who won various prizes this year.

The SEFH banquet was held on Tuesday, May 20th from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm. Excitement was in the air as students and their scientific achievements were honored  this academic year. The banquet was held at the University of Houston in the MD Anderson Library on the 2nd Floor in the Rockwell Pavilion.

Ms. Obiagele Nwosu, ACS-GHS Education Committee Chair, and Dr Heather Domjan, Executive Director of the UH STEM Center and Executive Director of SEFH

The 2025 American Chemical Society Greater Houston Section High School Scholarship Exam took place on May 3, 2025 at the University of Houston.Thanks to all the teachers and students who participated in this year's exam and congratulations to this year's Scholarship Award winners!

2025 Winners - 1st Year

1st Place – Jason Chen

Bellaire High School, Teacher Robert Morales

2nd Place – Kevin Hu

DeBakey High School for Health Professionals, Teacher Dina Adam

3rd Place – Avik Jotwani

Carnegie Vanguard High School, Teacher Joshua Garcia

Honorable Mention – Emily Zhang

DeBakey High School for Health Professionals, Teacher Dina Adam

Honorable Mention – Brian Kim

St. John’s School, Teacher Roxie Allen

Honorable Mention – Daniel Pan

St. John’s School, Teacher Laura Kopff

2025 Winners - 2nd Year

1st Place – Yale Zhang

William P. Clements High School, Teacher Caitlin Zuber

2nd Place – Krish Jha

Carnegie Vanguard High School, Teacher Joshua Garcia

3rd Place – Alexander Sun

William P. Clements High School, Teacher Caitlin Zuber

Honorable Mention – Alexander Chou

Dulles High School, Teacher Katherine Coleman

Honorable Mention – Jay Sahni

Jordan High School, Teacher Jennifer Notz

Honorable Mention – Akhil Baker

High School TBD, Teacher TBD

Interested in taking the exam next year? Learn more about the Scholarship Exam on our awards page.

Congratulations to Dr. Claire Conboy of St. Thomas High School on receiving the 2025 ACS-GHS Award for Excellence in High School Chemistry Teaching!

In this special collaboration between WISEcast and the ⁠American Chemical Society Greater Houston Section (ACS-GHS)⁠, Dr. Richa Chandra has a long-anticipated conversation with Dr. Beth Lorsbach, Global Head of Innovation and Development at Nufarm and National ACS Leader.

Beth joins us ahead of her upcoming seminar, “The Chemistry of Bourbon,” taking place on National Bourbon Day, Saturday, June 14, as part of the ACS-GHS Summer Social at LIV Bar in Downtown Houston.

With more than 20 years at Dow AgroSciences and Corteva, Beth has helped shape the future of crop protection R&D and now leads global innovation strategy at Nufarm. She brings deep insights into both science and leadership, and in this episode, she opens up about:

• Transitioning from an individual contributor to a strategic leader
• Redefining value when you're no longer “hands-on”
• Finding a leadership voice through pivotal and often difficult moments
• Managing expectations and letting go of the “doer” identity
• A sneak peek into her scientific curiosity behind the chemistry of bourbon

Tune in for practical wisdom, candid stories, and a preview of one of the most anticipated event of the summer!

Listen to WISEcast Season 8, Episode 5 - The Leadership Leap: Letting Go of the Individual Contributor Identity on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.