CHEMICAL ENGINEER HONORED FOR PUBLIC OUTREACH EFFORTS

As host of a weekly Illinois public radio show called Engineering & Life, Bill Hammack has gained a reputation for humanizing science while drawing upon an eclectic mix of subjects. His brief commentaries have entertained and enlightened listeners about the chemistry and history of everyday things, including typewriters, mood rings, GORE-TEX®, Jell-O®, superglue, and even Tupperware®.

An associate professor of chemical engineering, Hammack is the 2004 recipient of the American Chemical Society’s James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public, the highest honor the society gives for public communication about chemistry.

Hammack was honored at a luncheon, on October 24, at the National Press Club, in Washington, DC, and will receive the $3,000 Grady-Stack award, a gold medal, and a certificate at the society’s spring national meeting in Anaheim, Calif.

Since 1999, Hammack has provided over 200 weekly public radio commentaries that draw upon his background as a chemical engineer.

Says Hammack: “My goal is to show everyone—with or without a scientific inclination—that all of the material stuff that affects our lives has a very human origin. It’s the result of trials and tribulations, of hard work and surprises, and of disappointments and victories. In short, it’s the same as any creative work.”

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(Source: ACS news release)