NEOACS Young Scientist Award
Essay Contest
The Northeast Ohio Local Section of the American Chemical Society (NEO ACS) is hosting an essay contest for students in 9th through 12th grade as part of Chemists Celebrate Earth Week (CCEW). Entries must be sponsored by a local school or community group for verification purposes.
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Contest Deadline: Sunday, April 12th, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern
Prizes: $500 for first place, $250 for second places, and $100 for third place
Contact: Rachel Beller: rachel.beller@lubrizol.com
Essay Submission: available soon
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Winners of the Northeast Ohio Local Section's Young Scientist Award Essay Contest will be featured at the annual NEO ACS CCEW Young Scientist Award Banquet in April. Exact date to be determined. The topic for the 2026 essay contest is Into The Woods With Chemistry.
Write an essay based on one of the essay prompts below. Your essay must be no more than 500 words (excluding references) to be considered. Submissions will be evaluated for the use of AI generated content. Essays with high percentages of AI content or AI based citations will not be considered.
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Essay Prompts (choose one):
1. Pharmaceutical Benefits of Trees and Plants: Many medicines come directly or indirectly from plants and trees. Discuss how plants contribute to modern medicine and give an example of important drugs or treatments derived from plant sources.
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Important information to consider:
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Examples of medicines derived from plants
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How these medicines work and what they treat
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Importance of plant biodiversity for drug discovery
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Future possibilities in plant-based medicine
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2. Uses of Lignin: Lignin is one of the most abundant natural polymers, yet it is often treated as waste in industrial processes. Discuss how lignin can be used in modern industry and how it could contribute to sustainability.
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Important information to consider:
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What lignin is and where it comes from
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Current industrial uses
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Potential future applications
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Environmental benefits or challenges
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3. Discuss your own topic related to trees and plants and chemistry: Develop a topic of your own relating to the theme 'Into the Woods with Chemistry' and write an essay about it.
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Important information to consider
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Topic must relate to trees and plants
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Topic must focus on an aspect of chemistry
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Entries will be judged based upon the following criteria:
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Chemistry knowledge
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Scientific accuracy
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Structure and thesis
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Relevance to the prompt
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Originality and lack of AI generated content
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Grammar and citations
Full Contest rules:
