Award Description

In 2006, The Coblentz Society created an award to recognize the efforts of young professional spectroscopists that have made significant contributions in applied analytical vibrational spectroscopy. The Society named this award for Clara D. Craver in recognition of her pioneering efforts in promoting the practice of infrared vibrational spectroscopy and her many years of service to the Coblentz Society. Clara Craver was the editor of the Coblentz Desk reference and other subsequent libraries that later became databases of infrared spectra. These libraries are the foundation for the application of modern vibrational spectroscopy. Her efforts resulted in the creation of the investment fund that supports the Coblentz Society and many of its annual awards. The first Craver Award was presented in 2007 at the FACSS meeting in Memphis, TN.

Both the 2018 and 2019 Craver Awards will be presented this fall at SciX 2019 in Palm Springs, CA.

Shawn (Xiaoyun) Chen is currently a senior research scientist working at Core R&D Analytical Sciences, the Dow Chemical Company, where he applies all types of optical spectroscopy tools for problem-solving in both Research & Development and Manufacturing and Engineering projects. Shawn has been leading Dow’s global optical spectroscopy technology network since 2013 and also the molecular structure capability since 2016. Shawn has mentored many junior spectroscopists and introduced many non-spectroscopist users such as process engineers and synthetic chemists to the wonderful world of in situ spectroscopy for reaction and process monitoring, and in-field deployment. Shawn’s current work involves collaboration with many world-class experts in their own fields such as organic synthesis, catalyst discovery and development, reaction scale-up and optimization, and process analytical, to accelerate and improve their R&D processes by optical spectroscopy.  Shawn has successfully introduced and implemented in situ spectroscopy to more than ten Dow sites globally, which has won him multiple awards within Dow.

Prior to joining Dow, Shawn obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan (2002-2007), under the guidance of Professor Zhan Chen. His research focused on the development of sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy as a powerful tool to investigate biointerfaces. His thesis research won him multiple prestigious awards such as the 2007 Kasimir Fajans Award, nomination for the 2008 National Distinguished Dissertation Award, and 2007 Distinguished Dissertation Awards. Shawn received his B.S. from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, studying polymeric materials and their applications in tissue engineering.

Shawn has been a member of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy and the Coblentz Society since 2013.  He is currently serving on the Board of Managers for the Coblentz Society and as the Newsletter Editor for the Society for Applied Spectroscopy. Shawn has been chairing a session on industrial applications of vibrational spectroscopy at SciX every year since 2015.

2018 Craver Award Recipient

Professor Haynes completed her undergraduate work at Macalester College in 1998 and earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at Northwestern University in 2003 under the direction of Richard P. Van Duyne. Before joining the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 2005, Haynes performed postdoctoral research in the laboratory of R. Mark Wightman at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Her research efforts fall broadly into three areas: the development of the use of new tools to assess chronic/acute exposure of nanoscale and molecular toxicants at the cellular level, development of sensing systems for use in complex matrices, and application of bioanalytical tools in biomedical systems.  She has made great strides in developing new colloidal SERS probes and sensing protein targets in complex matrices. Working in a target-specific manner, she has utilized antibodies, aptamers, and even glycopolymers, depending on the target of the analysis. These efforts have benefited enormously from the development of new plasmonic nanoarchitectures that are specially designed for stability and subsequent Raman enhancement.  She has manipulated metal-dielectric structures with respect to material composition, geometry, assembly, and placement to construct a set of SERS-enhancing structures with remarkable versatility and applicability across a wide spectrum of biological and environmental applications.

Among many honors, she has been recognized as an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, a Searle Scholar, a Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, a National Institutes of Health "New Innovator," and a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow. In addition to wide recognition for her research contributions, including over 150 peer-reviewed publications, she has been recognized by her university as an Outstanding Postdoctoral Mentor and the Sara Evans Faculty Woman Scholar/Leader Award. Professor Haynes is currently the Associate Head of the University of Minnesota, Department of Chemistry, the Associate Director of the National Science Foundation-funded Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, and an Associate Editor for the journal Analytical Chemistry.

In addition, Prof. Haynes is a champion for diversity in STEM fields and dialogue between scientists and the public. To learn more about Prof. Haynes and her research, in her own words, listen to a recent interview she gave on the “People Behind the Science” podcast and watch a TEDx talk she delivered in January 2017.  (http://www.peoplebehindthescience.com/dr-christy-haynes/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRP0lGEOQPE

The Craver Award is presented at the SciX meeting.  However, in 2018 Prof. Haynes was on sabbatical in Europe; therefore, the Award will be presented at the SciX meeting in 2019. 

    The Coblentz Society announces its solicitation of nominations for the 2020 Craver Award in recognition of young investigators in applied analytical vibrational spectroscopy. 

     The Craver Award is presented annually to an outstanding young molecular spectroscopist whose efforts are in the area of applied analytical vibrational spectroscopy. The candidate must be under the age of 45 on January 1 of the year of the award. The work may include any aspect of infrared (NIR, MIR, or Far), and/or THz, and/or Raman spectroscopy in applied analytical vibrational spectroscopy. The nominees may come from an academic, government lab, or industrial backgrounds. The award comprises an honorarium, an engraved crystal award, and a travel allowance.

     Nominations for the 2020 award are accepted until October 31st, 2019 and must include a detailed description of the nominee's accomplishments, a curriculum vitae or resume, and minimum of three supporting letters. Annual updates of candidate files are encouraged and will be solicited from the nomination source by the award’s committee chair.  Files of candidates will be kept active for 3 years or until the age of eligibility is exceeded. Nominations may be sent to the Society's Nominations Committee at nominations@coblentz.org

Craver Award Lecture and Symposium

    The awardee will be offered an opportunity to present a plenary lecture to the assembled SciX conference. Further, a separate half-day award symposium honoring the award recipient and highlighting the interests of the awardee complements the Craver Award Lecture. At right is an image from the 2014 Craver Award symposium speakers, chaired by Luisa Profeta. From Left: Anders Sparen, Dor Ben-Amotz, Lynne Taylor, Patrick Marsac, Luisa Profeta (session chair) and Ian R. Lewis. Not pictured: Saly Romero-Torres.

Craver award lecture 2012

Below are images of the inaugural Craver Award presentation in 2007. At left is Katherine A. Bakeev, and at right is Mary W. Carrabba (who was then the President of Coblentz).