Carothers Award Committee – Organization and Procedures
(Previous document, 12/1/97. Current draft, 5/20/02)
I. The Carothers Award
The Carothers Lecture Award was established by the Delaware Section of the American
Chemical Society in 1976 in memory of Wallace H. Carothers, one of the founders of modern
polymer chemistry. The purpose of the award is to honor scientific innovators who have made
outstanding contributions and advances in industrial applications of chemistry. The award is
sponsored by the Delaware Section and by local companies in the Delaware Valley.
The award is a sculpture, commissioned by the Delaware Section, of two hands molding
a benzene ring, depicting man shaping molecules. It was designed by Mr. Domenico
Mortellito, a well-known local sculptor, muralist, and painter. A synthetic material was used
prior to 2001; the current award is a bronze sculpture. Beginning in 1993 the Carothers
Award has also included a cash award [$1000 in 1993-98, $2000 in 1998-2002].
The Carothers Award is given annually. The nominee must have made a significant
contribution to the industrial application of chemistry. The award recipient is chosen by the
Carothers Award Committee. The recipient must be able and willing to deliver a lecture at a
monthly meeting of the Delaware Section.
II. Carothers Award Committee
A. Organization of the Committee
1. The committee is composed of 7-12 members, representing major chemical
organizations in Delaware and covering different chemical disciplines.
2. The members of the committee should include corporate representatives from the
companies that provide financial support and the University of Delaware.
3. In addition, 2-4 "at large" members may be included with the approval of the
Committee.
4. The Carothers Secretary is also included as a voting member of the Committee, starting
in 1997.
5. The current Chair of the Delaware Section is invited to the committee meetings as a
guest of the committee.
B. Carothers Chair
1. The Chair normally serves for 2 years, starting in January of a year and ending in
December of the second year.
2. The Chair is to be elected by the Committee and normally rotates among the corporate
representatives of the local companies that provide financial support.
3. The Chair has the following responsibilities:
a. Serve as moderator during the meetings.
b. Work with Carothers Secretary to notify the award recipient.
c. Obtain the recipient's travel schedule, lecture title and abstract, bio, social security
number, and photo.
d. Coordinate with Delaware Section Chair with respect to publicity, banquet
arrangement, and the details of the award ceremony.
e. Appoint the Secretary, usually but not necessarily, from the Chair's organization.
C. Carothers Secretary
1. The Secretary is appointed by the Carothers Chair, with the concurrence of the
Committee.
2. The Carothers Secretary normally serves for 2 years, starting in January of a year and
ending in December of the second year. At the discretion of the Carothers Chair and
the Committee, the Secretary may be re-appointed.
3. The Secretary carries out the following functions:
a. Arrange the biannual meetings.
b. Distribute information to Committee members.
c. Solicit and gather nominations.
d. Procure additional documentation, as needed.
e. Serve as a full voting member of the Committee.
f. Work with Carothers Chair to notify the award recipient.
g. Make arrangements to get the Award sculpture in time for the award ceremony.
h. Keep historical records of the award.
III. Nomination Process
In the autumn of a given year, the Committee works on getting nominations. There are
at least six sources of nominees:
A. Take the finalists and semifinalists from last year's nomination list.
B. Write to industrial companies to solicit nominations.
C. Propose new nominations from the members’ knowledge, from readings, and through
referrals from colleagues and friends.
D. Review the list of major contributions and innovations in chemistry and allied areas.
Propose new candidates from the list. Solicit nominations.
E. Publish a “Call for Nominations” notice in the C&E News.
F. Solicit nominations from ACS technical divisions and local sections.
It would be useful for Committee members to submit the names of proposed candidates
to the Carothers Secretary by the first week of December. The Secretary can then consolidate
the list, solicit the nomination letters, get their curriculum vitae, etc. for the first meeting.
IV. Selection Process
The awardee is selected 6-12 months prior to the award event. Traditionally, the
Carothers Award committee meets twice a year. For the purpose of illustration, a mid-
December meeting and a mid-February meeting will be assumed in the following description.
The Carothers Secretary arranges these meetings.
A. December meeting. In this meeting the Committee reviews the nominees from various
sources. Additional names of candidates may be generated. If any seconding letters or
additional documentation are needed, the Secretary will act on them.
B. February meeting. The Committee discusses the various nominees and cuts the list to 3-4
finalists. The Committee can either vote on the finalists during the meeting, or decide on a
mail (or email) ballot.
C. The winner is then notified by Committee Chair or Secretary. If the winner accepts the
Award, a mutually acceptable date (usually the second or the third Wednesday in April) is
chosen. The Committee Chair or Secretary writes an official letter to the Awardee. The name
of the Awardee and the date are transmitted to the Delaware Section Chair.
V. The Award Event
In the past few years the award event has been held in April of each year. During the
February meeting, the Committee may review the preparation, publicity, banquet
arrangements, and the award ceremony itself. The Carothers Committee Chair will
coordinate with the Delaware Section Chair (and Section Arrangement Chair) concerning
these arrangements.
The various tasks involved are summarized here. These tasks mostly involve only the
Carothers Chair, Carothers Secretary, and Delaware Section Chair.
January. - Section Chair sends out solicitation letters to the regular sponsors of the Carothers
Award (DuPont, AstraZeneca, Hercules, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Basell, W. L. Gore & Assoc. )
and also to other companies that are active in the field of the awardee.
February. - Carothers Chair works with Section Chair on the details of the meeting and the
arrangements. Secretary makes sure that the award sculpture is available. Carothers Chair
confirms with Awardee on the travel schedule, and obtains title, abstract, bio (if updates
needed), social security number, and photo.
March. – By this time hotel reservations and travel arrangement should be all set for the
Awardee. Local arrangement should be finalized and all information (and photo) sent to Del-
Chem Bulletin and Section Homepage. Additional publicity should be done. Section Chair
should send follow-up letters to sponsors of Carothers Award to provide details about the
event and also get the names of the company representatives at the dinner.
April. – Carothers Award dinner takes place. One or more hosts are assigned to meet the
Awardee at the airport or train station, send the Awardee to the hotel, and escort the Awardee
to the meeting. Before or after the Award dinner, the Carothers Chair or Section Chair writes
an article for the C&E News. Additional news articles may be written for the News Journal,
Delaware Today, or other magazines as appropriate. Section Chair writes a thank-you letter
to the Awardee and other thank-you letters as needed.