Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research Symposium
Application Deadline for Spring 2026 ACS Meeting is September 29, 2025
(note that this symposium is “Invited Only”, eligibility is described below)
The Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research Symposium is organized by the POLY division and held at the Spring national meetings of the ACS to recognize outstanding graduate students in polymer science and engineering, foster networking and exposure, and help develop the careers of future leaders in the field of polymers. This annual symposium was started in 2004 and includes both oral and poster sessions with presentations exclusively from graduate students.
Eligibility: A participant must still be in graduate school in March or April when the presentation is given. Applicants should submit their abstract through the MAPS webpage
(available until September 29, 2025) and select “POLY” for the program area and “Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research” as the symposium.
Participation: The application packages will be evaluated by a judging panel. Students deemed worthy of recognition will be included in the symposium. Participants are chosen without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, or sexual orientation. Because of space limitations, only a maximum of 54 students can be accommodated in this symposium.
Nomination and Application: Only one nominee/applicant per department is allowed and previous participants in this symposium are not eligible. Please send your nomination/application package (see below) via email to Prof. Jeffrey Self (jeffreyself@asu.edu ) by September 29, 2025. The package should include:
- A completed application form from the student including a research overview (1 page) and statement of goals (1 paragraph)
(The application form can be downloaded here: file
- Letter of recommendation from the student’s research advisor describing the accomplishments of the nominee (1-page maximum)
- Letter of support from department chair (or equivalent) confirming nomination (1-page maximum)
- Also, enter a Graphical Abstract into the ACS MAPS submission system.
The symposium organizers are Jeffrey Self (Arizona State Univ.), Christine Coltrain (Eastman Kodak Co., Retired), Christopher Ellison (University of Minnesota), Katherine Heifferon (Eastman Kodak Co.), and Ross Behling (The 3M Company).
For information on previous symposia please see:
POLY Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research 2025
POLY Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research 2024
POLY Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research 2021-2023