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The Cleveland Section of the American Chemical Society is accepting nominations for the Edward W. Morley award.
The annual award honors those who have made significant contributions to chemistry through achievements in research, teaching, engineering, research administration and public service, outstanding service to humanity or to industrial progress.
ACS honors the recipient with the Morley Medal and an honorarium of $3,000. The ACS Cleveland Section will present the Morley Medal during its May 2026 meeting. The award ceremony includes a banquet, at which time the recipient will deliver the Edward W. Morley lecture. Travel expenses for the medalist and spouse will be provided.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicants from the U.S. and Canada within about 250 miles of Cleveland are eligible for the award. Eligible contributions must have been made during the nominee's residency in this area, or in cases where significant work was completed elsewhere, the nominee must demonstrate ongoing contributions while a resident of this area.
Nominations may be made by any member of ACS, The Chemical Society or the Chemical Institute of Canada.
Nominations for the Morley Medal must include a letter of nomination and curriculum vitae including the candidate’s education, professional experience and activities, awards and honors, offices held and specifics on their significant contributions.
The letter of nomination should highlight these significant contributions, a representative list of references to the candidate’s more important contributions, an evaluation of the significance of these achievements and a listing of the nominee’s most significant publications and patents are also appropriate. Successful nominations usually contain additional letters of support from colleagues in the nominee’s field of expertise who can speak directly to the strength of contributions made by the nominee.
Added consideration will be given to mid-career scientists with demonstrated accomplishments and for promise of continuing significant future accomplishments. The ACS Cleveland Section does not require or encourage specific reference for every publication or patent.
About the Morley Award
The award is named after chemist Edward Morley, the first chairman of the ACS Cleveland Section.
Morley is best known for his work with physicist Albert Michelson. The famed Morley-Michelson experiment studied the relative motion of Earth through a hypothetical “luminiferous aether.”
experiment's unexpected result—that two light beams arrived simultaneously at the detector — refuted the ether theory and possibly influenced Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.
The Morley award dates back to 1965. The 2025 winner was Philip Bevilacqua, distinguished professor of chemistry and of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University.
Bevilacqua was honored for his contributions in the field of RNA biochemistry.
To apply for the award, submit letter of nomination, CV and any supporting letters electronically to Mark Waner at [email protected]. The deadline for receipt of nominations is Dec. 12.
Jonathan Katz | Executive Editor
Jonathan Katz, executive editor, brings nearly two decades of experience as a B2B journalist to Chemical Processing magazine. He has expertise on a wide range of industrial topics. Jon previously served as the managing editor for IndustryWeek magazine and, most recently, as a freelance writer specializing in content marketing for the manufacturing sector.
His knowledge areas include industrial safety, environmental compliance/sustainability, lean manufacturing/continuous improvement, Industry 4.0/automation and many other topics of interest to the Chemical Processing audience.
When he’s not working, Jon enjoys fishing, hiking and music, including a small but growing vinyl collection.
Jon resides in the Cleveland, Ohio, area.
