Washington, DC—In a coincidence that made celebrating scientific progress that much sweeter, as astronauts on day 6 of a 10-day mission, Artemis II, approached the far side of the moon—a scientific feat that hasn’t been seen since 1972—scientists from around the globe tuned in to the American Chemical Society’s 150th Anniversary Founders Day Celebration.
One hundred fifty years ago on April 6, 35 chemists gathered at the College of Pharmacy of the City of New York and founded ACS. This Monday, ACS CEO Albert “Al” Horvath, ACS president Rigoberto Hernandez, ACS Board chair Wayne E. Jones Jr. (who joined virtually), National Science Board (NSB) chair Victor McCrary, past ACS CEO Madeleine Jacobs, and deputy chief of staff to Washington, DC, mayor Muriel Bowser, Steve Walker, delivered proclamations, resolutions, and reflections about the organization and science at ACS headquarters in the nation’s capital. Connections to the past and present, community impact, and strategic partnerships took center stage in these remarks.
2026 American Chemical Society president Rigoberto Hernandez and former ACS CEO Madeleine Jacobs toast ACS before cutting a Founders Day cake at ACS headquarters on April 6. Credit:
ChrisBrenSchmidt Photos
So far, ACS has celebrated its anniversary with multiple reflections, celebrations, and moments that showcase innovation and elevate the important progress of science. In December, the organization kickstarted the celebration with a special reception at Pacifichem 2025, January saw the first in a special ACS 150 Journal of the American Chemical Society symposium series in Zurich, and ACS Spring 2026 saw a packed ballroom for a special 150th keynote featuring Nobel laureate Omar Yaghi.
On Monday, Hernandez challenged the audience to think about their personal connections to ACS’s past. His own example included past ACS president Ira Remsen, who was a professor at Johns Hopkins University—like Hernandez is today—or chemist William Henry Emerson, who was trained by Remsen and went on to become the first dean of the Georgia Institute of Technology, a school that sits in the district of the ACS Georgia Section, a local section that Hernandez was a part of at one point in his career. “So I find myself, that I am in this legacy of the American Chemical Society through the connections that we have weaved in doing chemistry,” he said at the event. “And that connection is through mentoring, through being together.”
Walker spoke on behalf of Mayor Muriel Bowser, who couldn’t be at the event, and read a proclamation: “Since its founding in 1876, ACS has evolved into the world’s largest scientific organization for chemists, and your relocation to Washington, DC, in 1905 further cemented our city as a global hub for science, policy, and innovation.” At the local level, the proclamation acknowledged the K–12 resources that ACS makes available to public schools, along with the sponsorship of programs that advance chemistry education and careers in the district.
“We work every day to address the world’s challenges through discovery, innovation, and collaboration. I am reminded that chemistry’s greatest breakthroughs rarely happened in isolation.”
Reciprocating the emphasis on community impact, Horvath expressed gratitude to the mayor’s office: “And ACS and Washington . . . are linked by our history and our shared optimism for the future.” This optimistic outlook comes from the society’s commitment to improve all lives through the transforming power of chemistry, an outlook “where innovation and collaboration come together to help build a brighter future for everyone,” and one that can be achieved only with the help of strategic partnerships.
McCrary, who was named an ACS fellow in 2014, recognized ACS’s partnerships with the NSB and other organizations such as the National Science Foundation and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers. He described “. . . how we work every day to address the world’s challenges through discovery, innovation, and collaboration. I am reminded that chemistry’s greatest breakthroughs rarely happened in isolation.” He noted that the NSB has relied on ACS for input and expert guidance in areas such as research funding, advanced workforce development, promoting lab safety, and more, and he presented an NSB resolution acknowledging the ACS’s commitment to “stimulating original research, awakening and developing talent throughout the United States, and ensuring a broader public appreciation of the chemical sciences.”
Members can expect local, regional, and global celebrations throughout the rest of this week and the rest of the year, with more special events at ACS Fall 2026 in Chicago, such as one of the ACS 150 JACS Symposium Series events, and at events like the Atlantic Basin Conference on Chemistry 2026. An event calendar for specific 150th anniversary events is available online.
2026 American Chemical Society
