ACS names its 2025 Outreach Volunteers of the Year

The American Chemical Society’s Committee on Community Activities has recognized 26 members with 2025 Outreach Volunteer of the Year Awards. Volunteers from local sections and international chapters are honored for their outstanding outreach efforts. One recipient is named Global Outreach Volunteer of the Year. Anne- Catherine Bédard, a research scientist at Dow, is the 2025 winner. Bédard has led the Midland Local Section’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee since 2020 and is being honored for her work to transform this once-dormant committee into a thriving outreach enterprise. Outreach programs that Bédard’s committee has launched or colaunched include the A Day in the Life of an Industrial Scientist events, in which high school and college students work in teams to solve a tricky problem involving both car racing and the space shuttle Challenger explosion. The day finishes with a poster session that emphasizes the importance of diverse teams to real scientific research.