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Educational Grants

K-12 Chemical Education Grants

The Cincinnati Section of the American Chemical Society has funds available for the purpose of improving K-12 chemical education in the geographic area served by the local section (OH: Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland and Warren counties; KY: Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties; IN: Dearborn and Ohio counties). The Educational Grants Committee was established to make recommendations to the Cincinnati Section Trustees for the disbursement of these funds. The committee hereby invites applications for these grants from all members (teachers, students, industrial chemists, etc.) of the chemical community supporting K-12 chemical education in the service area of the section. Applications will be accepted and reviewed two times during the year according to the following schedule:

May Review Month

  • Application Deadline: Last Monday in April

  • Notification Date: Last Friday in May

December Review Month

  • Application Deadline: Last Monday in November

  • Notification Date: Last Friday in January

Greater Cincinnati Area College and University Chemistry Departments

Grants will be awarded for such activities as attending educational workshops, participation in summer research programs, innovative education programs, instructional equipment, etc. Proposals, which incorporate the use of funds from other agencies or corporations, including the agency, or corporation, with which the applicant is affiliated, may be given preference in the selection process. Funds will generally not be awarded for the purchase of common supplies or chemicals. However, any application, which meets the basic criteria for which the fund was created, will be given serious consideration. A total of $1,500 will be awarded during each grant period; exceptional proposals may win the entire amount, or the amount could be shared between several winning applications. Grants for K-12 educators to attend scientific or scientific educational conferences may usually limited to $400 and usually are only available to an educator every three years, with preference going to educators presenting papers. No school or organization will be allowed to receive more than one (1) award per calendar year. Within one year from the time the grant is awarded, a report describing the use of the funds and the impact that the project had on improving chemical education is expected to be forwarded to the committee chairperson, Ms. Gloria Story.

Application forms for K-12 chemical education Grants are available in .docx and .pdf formats for downloading. For additional information, please contact Gloria Story.

Greater Cincinnati Area College and University Chemistry Departments may apply for a $500 travel grant to be used to defray the cost for an undergraduate student presenting a paper or poster at an ACS National or Regional meeting, or meetings sponsored by the ACS (i.e., PittCon or SciX).

The student for which the grant applies must be the first author and presenter. Each Greater Cincinnati College or University Chemistry Department may apply for one grant each year.

To apply, a copy of the accepted abstract should be sent to Gloria Story via email.

Chemical Landmarks

  • The ACS National Chemical Historical Landmarks program honors chemical discoveries, innovations as well as chemists that transformed lives and our understanding of chemistry. The program, established in 1992, features more than 90 landmarks related to major chemical inventions and chemists. These landmarks honor scientists like Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, inventions like Bakelite, the world’s first synthetic plastic, and the legacy of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Cincinnati features two National Chemical Historical Landmarks.

  • This landmark was dedicated in October 2006. Procter and Gamble first released Tide in 1946. Tide was not only a new product but a type of laundry detergent featuring not only the technology of fully synthetic detergents but also synthetic builders, compounds which enable cleaning performance in hard water. More information on the Development of Tide Synthetic Detergent from the ACS’ National Chemistry Historical Landmarks program. Click this link to check out the "The Development of Tide” commemorative booklet.

  • In March 2022, the University of Cincinnati and the American Chemical Society celebrated the dedication of the Oesper Collections as a National Historical Chemical Landmark. An audience of 100 people attended the dedication ceremony. The curator of the museum, Professor Emeritus William Jensen gave a talk describing the life of UC Professor Ralph Oesper who not only started the collection of rare books and journals but also left endowments supporting scholarships in chemistry. Visit this link for a report on the event celebrating the dedication on the University of Cincinnati website. Then click this link to check out the Oesper Collection commemorative booklet.