Cui and Sanford named Blavatnik laureates

Abstract

ACS members Yi Cui and Melanie S. Sanford are among the three winners of the 2017 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, established by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and administered by the New York Academy of Sciences. The awards honor exceptional young scientists and engineers, and each winner receives an unrestricted cash prize of $250,000. Sanford is Moses Gomberg Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Chemistry at the University of Michigan. She was named the 2017 Blavatnik National Laureate in Chemistry. Cui is a professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford University. He was named the 2017 Blavatnik National Laureate in Physical Sciences & Engineering. Sanford is developing new synthetic methods for the synthesis of organic molecules. She aims to develop methods to form bonds or put molecules together in ways that were not previously possible. “Ultimately, we aim to apply these methods in