Phi Lambda Upsilon

National Fresenius Award

Phi Lambda Upsilon, in keeping with its stated objectives towards the promotion of high scholarship and original investigation in all branches of pure and applied chemistry, has established a national award for outstanding chemists early in their professional careers. This award, established in 1965, was named the "National Fresenius Award" in recognition of Carl Remigius Fresenius, one of the eminent chemists after whom Phi Lambda Upsilon was named.

This award is presented annually to an outstanding young scientist who has attained national recognition in the areas of research, teaching and/or administration. The first award was presented at the National ACS Meeting in April, 1965. This award continues and extends the traditions of the Society in recognizing and honoring excellence in Chemistry. As the list of names of past recipients (vide infra) testifies, the National Fresenius Award has taken its place among the pre-eminent awards in Chemistry in the United States.

The guidelines for The National Fresenius Award are as follows:

1. The award consists of a plaque of suitable design and a monetary award of $ 5,000.
2. The award recipient must be under 35 years of age at the date of the nomination.
3. The award recipient must have made substantial, nationally recognized scientific contributions.
4. Selection of the recipient is the responsibility of a five-member Award Committee composed of previous Fresenius Award recipients.
5. The recipient will be selected from persons nominated by the Chairs of the departments of Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering and Chemistry in United States Universities (as listed in the American Chemistry Society Directory of GraduateResearch).
6. Only one award will be made each year.

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The National Fresenius Award Nomination Procedure:

Nominations must be submitted to the National President by November 1 of each year to:

Dr. Manuel P. Soriaga
National President, Phi Lambda Upsilon
Department of Chemistry
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77842-3012
(979) 845-1846
soriaga@mail.chem.tamu.edu

The nomination packet must consist of the following items:

i. A nomination letter, by the department Chair, that details why the nominee is particularly worthy of consideration for the Fresenius Award.

ii. A biography of the candidate that contains the following information:

1. Full name
2. Place and date of birth
3. Education
4. Professional activities
5. List of publications (no reprints)
6. List of awards, honors and noteworthy achievements

iii. Three (3) letters of recommendation from former mentors and/or professional associates.

The above items may be sent separately, but they must all arrive by the deadline. Submission may be by postal or electronic mail, but all letters must bear the appropriate signatures; i.e., the originals may have to be digitally scanned if transmission is to by e-mail.

Please direct all inquiries to the National President.

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*Deceased

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The “Phi” in Phi Lambda Upsilon stands for “Fresenius”

Carl Remigius Fresenius was one of the great chemists in the nineteenth century. He was Professor of Chemistry, Physics and Technology at the Agricultural Institute at Wiesbaden, Germany from 1845 until his death in 1897. At the age of 23, a year before he received the doctoral degree at the University of Giessen, he published the first edition of his famous “Introduction to Qualitative Analysis,” which proved to be so meritorious that it was translated into several foreign languages.

Fresenius was a critical analyst, widely known for the meticulous care and precision with which he carried out his analytical procedures. Many of his methods, such as the quantitative determination of lithium, manganese, and nickel, of phosphoric nitric, boric, and titanic acids were the analytical methods of choice for decades. In developing these methods he was obligated to synthesize many of his own reagents. To improve the accuracy of precipitation methods, he made numerous solubility studies on the salts involved. He developed detailed methods for the analysis of waters and of plant materials.

In 1869 he established anagricultural chemistry research laboratory, in 1877 a food research laboratory, and in 1884 a bacteriological research laboratory.

Fresenius was also interested inthe industrial application of chemistry. He was the discoverer of thelime-sodaprocess of water-softening. The destructive distillation of wood and the processes for the recovery and utilization of the products also were originated and developed by Fresenius.

In 1862 he founded the “Zeitschriftfür Analytische Chemie”, which remains one of the world’s leading journals in the field of analytical chemistry.

© Phi Lambda Upsilon 2005