A University of Michigan professor has been named the winner of the 2026 Akron Section Award by the Akron Section of the American Chemical Society, with the presentation set for January in Akron. Tim Cernak, a professor of medicinal chemistry and chemistry at Michigan, is being recognized for work at the forefront of automated chemical synthesis, drug discovery and biodiversity conservation.
The award will be presented on January 12, 2027 in Akron, where Cernak will give a seminar titled Chemical Synthesis for Global Health at the University of Akron. The first session is set for 3 p.m. in Mary Gladwin Hall, room 111, with a second seminar open to the public later that day at 7 p.m.
Cernak’s research program combines chemistry with automation, an approach aimed at speeding up how new molecules are made and tested. That work connects to drug discovery, where faster synthesis can help researchers evaluate more candidates, and to biodiversity conservation, where chemical tools can be used to study and protect natural products.
The Akron Section Award is the local section’s honor for distinguished work in chemistry, and past presentations have brought the winner to Akron to speak to both specialists and the wider community. The two-seminar format on January 12 follows that pattern, with an afternoon technical talk and an evening public session.
Akron has a long history in polymer and chemical research, anchored by the University of Akron and the region’s rubber and materials industries. A national-level chemistry honor presented in the city puts that local scientific community in front of work being done at a neighboring research university.
For students and faculty at the University of Akron, the visit offers a chance to hear directly from a researcher working across chemistry, automation and global health, and to ask questions in the public evening session.
The January presentation is the next step in the award. Cernak’s seminar title, Chemical Synthesis for Global Health, signals a talk focused on how laboratory methods can be applied to health problems beyond a single institution.
The honor was reported this week in the American Chemical Society’s roundup of awards, program grants and service recognition across chemistry. That listing places the Akron award alongside national recognition for research and funding, underlining that a section-level presentation in Akron is part of a wider professional circuit in the field, not only a local ceremony.
Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA