PMSE Emerging Professionals Symposium

The PMSE Emerging Professionals Symposium features invited oral presentations by honorees who have made significant contributions and shown leadership in their fields within polymer materials science and engineering and are applying to industry and national laboratory positions during that year

Award and Nomination Summary

Purpose

The goal of this annual symposium is to highlight and provide a forum for emerging professionals (postdocs and final year PhD students) working in polymeric materials who will be are applying to industry or national laboratory positions during that year (i.e., nominees for the 2026 cycle will be applying for jobs in 2026, starting 2027 or later). The Emerging Professionals (EP) PMSE symposium is held during the Fall National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (location changes annually). The symposium features professional development through presentations by mentors and oral presentations by honorees who have made significant contributions to their respective fields within polymer materials science and engineering (e.g., synthesis, processing, characterization, physics and engineering of polymeric materials).

Rules of Eligibility

Eligibility requirements for the “PMSE Emerging Professionals Scholars” program:

PMSE encourages a broad participation by members of the Polymer Science and Engineering Community. Applicants from groups historically underrepresented in STEM are highly encouraged to apply.

Applicant must be a postdoc or final year PhD student working at PhD-granting institutions or national labs. Applicants must be members of the PMSE Division of the American Chemical Society. Applicants are expected to apply for industry or national laboratory positions within 12 months of the award symposium. Applicants applying for internships in 2026 will be excluded.  

Nominations Process

Nominations are open between January 1 and February 1 of each calendar year. The deadline may be extended if needed.

PhD students and postdocs will be selected as “PMSE Emerging Professionals Scholars” following a nomination process. The candidate’s research must align within the themes of the PMSE division. Nominations are to be made by a research mentor (typically, postdoc or PhD advisor). The nomination package must be uploaded via a Google-based form, which will be provided here closer to opening of the window for nominations.

In addition to contact information for the nominee and nominator, a single PDF containing the following items, in this order, must be uploaded:

1. Nomination letter from the mentor (2 page maximum)
2. Personal statement from the nominee outlining their research interests and career plans and commitment to a career in industry or national laboratories (1 page maximum)
3. Nominee’s title and abstract of the tentative presentation for the ACS meeting (~ 300 words)
4. Nominee’s resume, suitable for an industry search application (2 page maximum)
5. Statement on the Nominee’s leadership experience (1 page maximum)

Questions regarding the nomination process can be sent to SMBarbon@dow.com.

Award Selection

Selection of PMSE Emerging Professionals will be made by organizers & ad hoc members of the selection committee based on information provided in the nomination package, including research innovation and productivity, demonstrated commitment to an industry or national laboratory career, leadership potential, and enthusiasm of mentor nomination letter.

Selected PMSE Emerging Professionals Scholars nominees will each provide a technical talk describing past research and briefly mention their future research interests. Additionally, they will be invited to participate in a networking reception with one another, keynote speakers, and selected invited guests from academia and other sectors. The PMSE Young Polymer Scientists and Engineering Committee provides oversight to the coordination of the symposium. Organizers for the 2024 program are Tom Ribelli (Avery Dennison), Luke Baldwin (AFRL) and Steph Barbon (Dow).

Award Announcement and Nature

Invited Emerging Professionals Scholars are responsible for all costs associated with attending the conference, including travel and registration. Selected scholars must submit their abstracts through the ACS system by the deadline and register for the meeting.

Past Award Winners

This award is new in 2026.