Amos B. Smith III Award
Purpose
To recognize innovation, collaboration and leadership in organic chemistry.
Nature
The award consists of $5,000 and a cut crystal plaque. The award will be presented biennially at a high-profile conference (e.g., the National Organic Chemistry Symposium). Travel expenses to attend the award ceremony will also be provided.
Inaugural Award: The first Amos B. Smith, III Award will be presented at the 50th National Organic Chemistry Symposium (NOS 2027), to be held at the University of Minnesota from July 25–29, 2027.
The Smith, Leete, and Gassman Awards are the only three awards selected by the Executive Committee of the Organic Division.
Establishment
The Amos B. Smith, III Award was established by the ACS Division of Organic Chemistry to honor the legacy of Professor Amos B. Smith, III (1944-2025), whose distinguished career exemplified the highest ideals of organic chemistry: transformative scientific achievement, sustained mentorship, and exceptional leadership to the scientific community.
The award is designed not merely to honor excellence but to help define it for future generations. Through this award, the Division seeks to foster the continued advancement of organic chemistry by celebrating those who embody Professor Smith’s commitment to scientific discovery, collaboration, and service.
Support the Award
Contributions to the Amos B. Smith, III Award Endowment can be made through the GiveLively donation page. For donations of $5,000 or more, or to arrange ongoing monthly contributions, please contact the Division Treasurer (Joseph Ward).
Rules of Eligibility
Nominees must be members of the Organic Division of the American Chemical Society who have made significant contributions to organic chemistry research, collaboration, and leadership.
Nominations
Nomination packages should provide evidence of the candidate’s contributions across the award criteria. The nomination letter (2 pages max, with minimum font size 11pt), seconding letters (up to 2, 2 pages max each, with minimum font size 11pt), and the candidate’s C.V. should be submitted as a single PDF file via the online form (please name the PDF file with the candidate’s name (for example: JohnSmith-SmithNomination.pdf).
Deadline: The due date for the 2027 award nominations is September 15, 2026.
About Amos B. Smith, III (1944-2025)
Amos was born on August 26, 1944, in Lewisburg, PA, and was the only child of Mildred E. (Cornelius) Smith and Dr. Amos B. Smith, Jr. In 1966 Amos was the recipient of the first combined B.S.-M.S. degree in Chemistry from Bucknell University, where he studied under the mentorship of Harold Heine and published his first two papers. After a year of medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, Amos decided his real passion was chemistry and moved to The Rockefeller University in New York City, where in 1972 he earned a Chemistry Ph.D. under the mentorship of Bill Agosta. After graduation he accepted a joint appointment at the Monell Chemical Senses Center and the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1981 he became a full member of the Monell Chemical Senses Center and rose to the rank of Professor of Chemistry. From 1988-1996 he served as Chair of the Chemistry Department. He held the Rhodes-Thompson Endowed Professorship of Chemistry from 1990 until his move to Emeritus status in 2024.
Smith’s research interests encompassed three diverse areas: natural product synthesis, bioorganic chemistry and materials science. More than 85 architecturally complex natural products were prepared in his Laboratory. In addition, Smith, in collaboration with Ralph Hirschmann, achieved the design and synthesis of non-peptide peptidomimetics of neuropeptideic hormone/transmitters and protease enzyme inhibitors and, also with Stephen Benkovic (Penn State), haptens for the production of catalytic antibodies capable of peptide bond formation. At Monell, in collaboration with Peter Jurs (Penn State), he pioneered the use of computerized pattern recognition techniques for the analysis of primate chemical communication. Collaborative programs at the LRSM include the chemistry and physics of novel liquid crystals and the fullerenes. More recent studies with the late Professor Robin Hochstrasser involved the development of ultrafast photochemical triggers to explore peptide/protein folding.
Amos was recognized for his contributions to science by numerous national and international awards including the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1991), the ACS Ernest Guenther Award (1993), the ACS Award for Creativity in Organic Chemistry (1997), the Centenary Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, (2002), the Yamada Prize (Tokyo, Japan) (2003), the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon from the Government of Japan (2004), RSC Simonsen Medal (2008), Inaugural Fellow, American Chemical Society (2009), D.Sc. (honoris causa), Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland (2009), the William H. Nichols Award from the New York Section of the ACS (2014), and the Gassman Award (2014).