Each year during the Department of Chemistry's May Convocation ceremony, several departmental awards are presented to graduating undergraduate and graduate students. All of the awards were established by a gift to the department, and some are in memory of an individual. All of the awards include a $1,000 monetary gift to the recipients and recognize specific student achievements, including scholarship, research, teaching and more. Below are descriptions of each award, explaining why they were established and the specific achievements they celebrate.
The John C. Bailar Award honors students whose undergraduate research work is especially exemplary. John C. Bailar, Jr. was a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois for 63 years, from 1928 until his death in 1991. Known as the father of coordination chemistry in the U.S., John Bailar trained 90 PhD students, 38 postdoctoral fellows, and numerous bachelor’s and master’s degree candidates, making the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign a world-renowned leader in inorganic chemistry.
The Reynold C. Fuson Award recognizes outstanding academic excellence in chemistry, emphasizing research accomplishments. Reynold Clayton Fuson, known as “R. C.” Fuson, was a distinguished member of the University of Illinois chemistry faculty for 35 years, from 1927 to 1963. During his years at Illinois, he supervised 76 undergraduate research students, 154 doctoral candidates, and 15 postdoctoral fellows. He authored or co-authored five textbooks, including The Systematic Identification of Organic Compounds, which has long been a classic in the field. Fuson’s stature as a research scientist was outstanding, yet his deepest interest was always in the teaching and welfare of students. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a charter member of the Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois. Prof. Fuson received multiple awards and prizes including honorary degrees from the University of Illinois and the University of Minnesota.
The Carl S. Marvel Award was established to honor a top student for distinction in undergraduate research. Carl S. Marvel, known as “Speed” Marvel, received a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1920. Prof. Marvel went on to teach at Illinois from 1920 until 1961. He was one of the world’s five leading experts in polymer chemistry (plastics). During World War II, when supplies of natural rubber were disrupted, he made important contributions to the commercial production of synthetic rubber. He later discovered several classes of what are now known as high temperature polymers, especially the benzimidazoles, which are today the principal ingredient in flame-resistant suits worn by firefighters.
Established in 1959, the Worth H. Rodebush Award is based upon academic merit and is for a student who intends to make a career in chemistry. Prof. Worth H. Rodebush was a physical chemist who gained an international reputation as a member of the University of Illinois chemistry faculty. He received his PhD in 1917 while working with Wendell Latimer at the University of California, Berkeley. With Latimer, he developed the concept and theory of the hydrogen bond. He joined the University of Illinois chemistry faculty in 1921 and continued in that capacity until his retirement in 1955.
The Dr. Eugene Kent Borchart Memorial Award in Chemistry recognizes an outstanding graduating senior. The award was established in 2022 by Kate Yvonne Wallace in memory of her father, Eugene Kent Borchart. A lifelong academic who was passionate about the study of the sciences, Eugene graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1955 with a degree in chemistry and received his degree in medicine from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1959. Eugene was a devoted physician, practicing radiology for more than five decades at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois, before retiring in 1998. Eugene sought to live each day with purpose and intrigue. A man of great character with the highest level of integrity, Eugene was very proud of his support for the “underdog” and was consummately generous with all that he possessed.
The Algernon DeWaters Gorman Memorial Prize in Chemistry is awarded to a student who has done scholarly work in chemistry. The award was established in 1946 by Frank and Martha Gorman in memory of their beloved son, Algernon DeWaters Gorman. Algernon was born in 1894 and attended the University of Illinois between 1917 and 1918. When World War I began, Mr. Gorman enlisted in the Army, volunteering as a chemist for the poison gas department. He was accepted and placed in charge of a department in the war chemical service station at the American University in Washington, D.C. Algernon contracted Spanish influenza and passed away shortly after. His name is included on the World War I Memorial in Elmira, New York.
The John David Barnwell Memorial Award in Chemistry was established in 2000 to recognize a student who exemplifies academic achievement along with a high personal standard of ethics and scholarship, a passion for teaching, and a respect for friendship. John David Barnwell entered the University of Illinois as an undergraduate student in 1971, majored in Chemistry and English, participated in the Honors Biology program, and studied philosophy and music, graduating summa cum laude and earning Bronze Tablet honors in 1975. He received his PhD in 1983 in Chemical Physics at Harvard University and went on to teach at Harvard and Bowdoin College in Maine.
The American Chemical Society Presidential P3 Medal recognizes graduate student research excellence. In 2013, ACS past president and University of Illinois chemistry alum Dr. Marinda Wu (PhD, '76) established the “Partners for Progress and Prosperity”, or P3, award to raise awareness of the importance of working with others and partnering for mutual benefit. As an additional component of this award, Dr. Wu has provided the Department of Chemistry with an annual gold-plated medal for each award recipient and the department supplements the medal with a $1,000 award. At Dr. Wu’s request, the Presidential P3 Medal and monetary award are provided in memory of Dr. Wu’s PhD advisor and mentor, Prof. Russell S. Drago, who was a member of the Illinois faculty from 1955 to 1982.