Organic chemistry: It’s among the most feared courses undergraduate science students take. Whether you call it “orgo” or “o-chem,” it has reduced many hopeful scholars to tears. One professor thinks he has a solution. William Dichtel, Ph.D., of Cornell University shares his thoughts on making organic chemistry classes more interesting and relevant to students.

Stephen J. Lippard is the winner of the 2014 American Chemical Society Priestley Medal, the highest honor given by ACS. Lippard helped create the field of bioinorganic chemistry, which explores the crucial role of metals in biology. His work also led to a better understanding of the mechanism of cisplatin — sometimes termed "the penicillin of cancer" for its wide-ranging effects — and opened the door to efforts to develop more effective anti-cancer medications.

The engineering feat that enables a device to jolt a dangerously misbehaving heart back to its normal rhythm and save millions of lives is featured in our last Prized Science episode of 2013. The video features renowned inventor Esther S. Takeuchi, Ph.D., this year's winner of the E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. The award recognizes Takeuchi's work on a battery that powers implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs). These devices monitor patients' heartbeats...

A group of nanoparticles called “GUMBOS” is as varied as their culinary namesake implies, with a wide range of potential applications from cancer therapy tosensors. Isiah Warner, Ph.D., won the ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry for his work on GUMBOS and other innovative research.

One of Shirley O. Corriher’s first lessons on how chemistry meets cooking came in the form of scrambled eggs stuck to a frying pan. That experience set the former biochemist on a journey to become an award-winning food writer. For her success in bringing science in the home, Corriher was awarded this year's James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public.

Imagine creating something completely new — something improbable and provocative that has never existed on Earth before. This kind of unconventional science is the focus of Gregory H. Robinson, Ph.D., winner of the 2013 F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry. The Cotton Award recognizes Robinson’s success harnessing finicky, unstable elements.

Tim M. Swager is the 2013 winner of the ACS Award for Creative Invention for his work on the world’s most sensitive explosive detector to date. Known as FIDO, the handheld detector has been used to detect roadside bombs in Iraq, as well as homeland security operations and in airport security.

Peter Stang is the winner of the 2013 American Chemical Society Priestley Medal, the highest honor given by ACS, for his work building new molecules via “self-assembly," an approach inspired by nature. The molecules created by Stang's group could being used in medicines that exclusively target cancer cells, in chemical sensors that detect explosives and other promising applications‪.‬ ‪

‪Peter Wolynes, winner of the 2012 ACS Award in Theoretical Chemistry, spent his career untangling the process of protein folding and discovered a process through which these chain molecules tumble into shape. His discovery may help usher in new techniques for personalized medicine and reveal how protein mutations affect the body.

‪This episode features celebrated chemistry professor Diane Bunce, winner of the ACS George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education. When Bunce isn't training a new generation of scientists in her classroom, she also makes chemistry more accessible to the general public through entertaining holiday lectures about the chemistry of Thanksgiving, St. Patrick’s Day and more.

‪Did you know that storms can carry dust particles, or particulate matter, all the way around the globe? Particulate matter makes up a significant portion of the atmosphere and has wide-ranging effects on human health, solar radiation and greenhouse gases. Vicki Grassian, winner of the ACS Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technology, helps scientists better understand the complex and wide ranging behavior of dust particles. Vicki's work paints a clearer picture of...

‪Chad Mirkin, Ph.D., the 2012 winner of the American Chemical Society's Award for Creative Invention, is well known for his work on the Verigene System, which can provide patient diagnostics at the point of care. Instead of sending tests or samples out to labs -- a potentially time consuming process -- this tool can diagnose diseases on site at hospitals or in the doctor's office. By improving the speed and accuracy of diagnostics, doctors able to treat diseases more quickly and effectively. ...

‪The first episode of the 2012 season of Prized Science highlights the work of Robert Langer, Institute Professor at MIT. His influential research on tissue engineering and controlled drug release earned him the 2012 American Chemical Society Priestley Medal, the highest honor given by the world's largest scientific society.

‪This episode features a team of scientists at the Xerox Corporation, including Patricia Burns, Ph.D., Grazyna Kmiecik-Lawrynowicz, Ph.D., Chieh-Min Cheng, Ph.D., and Tie Hwee Ng, Ph.D. They invented a “super-toner,” a revolutionary new ink for copiers and laser printers that reduces emissions of carbon dioxide in toner production and produces higher-quality color images more economically. The American Chemical Society selected them as recipients of its 2011 ACS Award for Team Innovation,...

‪This episode features Jeffery C. Bricker, Ph.D., winner of the 2011 ACS Award for Creative Invention sponsored by the ACS Corporation Associates. Bricker's pioneering work helped produce catalysts that are key ingredients in cleaner detergents and gasoline. One of Bricker's catalysts also significantly reduced the cost of producing styrene and polypropylene, two of the most widely used plastics in the world.

This episode features John A. Lowe, III, Ph.D., winner of the 2011 ACS Award in Industrial Chemistry sponsored by the ACS Division of Business Development and Management and the ACS Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. It highlights Lowe’s advances that led to the development of a schizophrenia drug with fewer side effects and a drug that relieves nausea and vomiting in patients on cancer chemotherapy.

This episode features David Craik, Ph.D., winner of the American Chemical Society’s 2011 Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry. It highlights Craik's advances toward new drugs for treating health problems that affect millions of people around the world, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria and AIDS.

This episode features Ahmed Zewail, Ph.D., winner of the American Chemical Society’s 2011 Priestley Medal, the highest honor from the world’s largest scientific society. It highlights Zewail's development of technology that’s paving the way for new medicines, new fuels, new materials that will give people longer, healthier, happier lives.

Red tides are phenomena in which certain pigmented algae ― toxic algae ― undergo population explosions. Health officials ban fishing for oysters, shrimp and other shellfish ― if they detect a red tide. If not, unsuspecting consumers get hit with a virtual tidal wave called neurotoxic shellfish or paralytic shellfish poisoning. That may change thanks to the research of Michael Crimmins, a scientist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. His work focuses on brevetoxin A ― the...

Computer chips are the brains of modern electronics and the lifeblood of modern society. Meet Robert Miller, winner of the 2010 American Chemical Society Award for Chemistry of Materials. As a chemist at IBM, Miller developed materials that helped pack more transistors onto each chip, paving the way for the electronics products that make everyday life longer, healthier, happier, and more enjoyable.

Green chemistry is the driving force behind many eco-friendly products and could play an important role in fostering sustainability; Three scientists, Vincent D’Amico, Emiel van Broekhoven, and Juha Jakkula invented an environmentally friendly process for making a key ingredient in the production of green gasoline; The American Chemical Society selected those three scientists as the 2010 winners of its Award for Affordable Green Chemistry

Prized Science’s launch episode is a three-part HD video featuring the research of Richard Zare, Ph.D., winner of the 2010 Priestley Medal, highest honor bestowed by ACS. The video highlights Zare’s work on the possibility that life existed on Mars; in developing the technology that helped scientists decode the human genome; and in pioneering efforts to enlist nanoparticles in medicine. Zare is the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in Natural Science at Stanford University.