Congratulations to the 2024 CAS Future Leaders™

Announcing the 2024 CAS Future Leaders! This group of exceptional Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars from around the world will take the next steps in their leadership journeys this August in Columbus, Ohio, and Denver, Colorado.

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Pragti
Athi Welsh
Kunyu Wang
Lilian Sophie Szych
Chiara Deriu
Daisy Pooler
Stephanie Schneider
Yirui Zhang
Áine Coogan
Akachukwu Obi
Michelle Brann
Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao
Sara T. R. Velasquez
Nabojit Kar
Madison Elaine Edwards
Joshua Kofsky
Rosemary L. Calabro
Danielle Maxwell
Inès Forrest
Olga Eremina
Junyi Zhao
Noah Bartfield
Stavros Kariofillis
Ken Aldren Usman
Hanchen Shen
Keita Mori
Gayatri Viswanathan
Aditya Nandy
Ernest Opoku
Patrick W. Fritz
Eric Kohn
Alexander Umanzor
Ekaterina Selivanovitch
Kyra Yap
Aziz Abu-Saleh
Yirui Zhang
Aditya Nandy
Aziz Abu-Saleh
Nabojit Kar
Kyra Yap
Ken Aldren Usman
Stephanie Schneider
Patrick W. Fritz
Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao
Daisy Pooler
Akachukwu Obi
Danielle Maxwell
Pragti
Inès Forrest
Gayatri Viswanathan
Rosemary L. Calabro
Athi Welsh
Eric Kohn
Joshua Kofsky
Ekaterina Selivanovitch
Madison Elaine Edwards
Michelle Brann
Áine Coogan
Stavros Kariofillis
Kunyu Wang
Ernest Opoku
Olga Eremina
Junyi Zhao
Hanchen Shen
Alexander Umanzor
Keita Mori
Lilian Sophie Szych
Chiara Deriu
Noah Bartfield
Sara T. R. Velasquez

2024 CAS Future Leaders

This year's participants were selected from among hundreds of highly qualified applicants, representing a wide array of scientific disciplines and organizations from around the world. Congratulations to our 2024 class:

Aziz Abu-Saleh
Aziz Abu-Saleh
University of Windsor
Noah Bartfield
Noah Bartfield
Yale University
Michelle Brann
Michelle Brann
Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Rosemary L. Calabro
Rosemary L. Calabro
US Army DEVCOM Armaments Center and United States Military Academy
Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao
Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Áine Coogan
Áine Coogan
Trinity College Dublin
Chiara Deriu
Chiara Deriu
Politecnico di Torino
Madison Elaine Edwards
Madison Elaine Edwards
Texas A&M University
Olga Eremina
Olga Eremina
University of Southern California
Inès Forrest
Inès Forrest
Scripps Research Institute
Patrick W. Fritz
Patrick W. Fritz
University of Fribourg
Nabojit Kar
Nabojit Kar
Indiana University-Bloomington
Stavros Kariofillis
Stavros Kariofillis
Columbia University
Joshua Kofsky
Joshua Kofsky
Queen's University
Eric Kohn
Eric Kohn
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Danielle Maxwell
Danielle Maxwell
University of Detroit Mercy
Keita Mori
Keita Mori
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
Aditya Nandy
Aditya Nandy
University of Chicago
Akachukwu Obi
Akachukwu Obi
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ernest Opoku
Ernest Opoku
Auburn University
Daisy Pooler
Daisy Pooler
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Pragti
Pragti
Indian Institute of Technology Indore
Stephanie Schneider
Stephanie Schneider
McMaster University
Ekaterina Selivanovitch
Ekaterina Selivanovitch
Cornell University
Hanchen Shen
Hanchen Shen
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Lilian Sophie Szych
Lilian Sophie Szych
Freie Universität Berlin
Alexander Umanzor
Alexander Umanzor
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Ken Aldren Usman
Ken Aldren Usman
Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University - Waurn Ponds
Sara T. R. Velasquez
Sara T. R. Velasquez
University of Twente
Gayatri Viswanathan
Gayatri Viswanathan
Iowa State University
Kunyu Wang
Kunyu Wang
University of Pennsylvania
Athi Welsh
Athi Welsh
University of Cape Town
Kyra Yap
Kyra Yap
Stanford University
Yirui Zhang
Yirui Zhang
Stanford University
Junyi Zhao
Junyi Zhao
Washington University in St. Louis
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What is CAS Future Leaders?

The CAS Future Leaders program supports the growth of science leadership among early-career scientists. Since 2010, the program has awarded Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars opportunities to learn leadership skills, engage in scientific discourse, and connect with peer scientists and innovators from around the world.

Learn

Get exclusive leadership training from industry experts and learn how CAS connects the world’s scientific knowledge.

Engage

Share your latest discoveries to advance scientific knowledge at the American Chemical Society fall meeting.

Connect

Network to make meaningful connections with peer scientists and innovators from around the world.

Hear from our CAS Future Leaders

Read inspiring stories from previous participants about how the program opened new doors, enhanced their careers, and gave them an unforgettable experience.

Read testimonials

Past CAS Future Leaders

Meet our exceptional alumni who shaped their personal and professional journeys through our program.

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Insights from CAS Future Leaders

Discover publications and journal articles from our alumni and see the unique insights and perspectives they offer to science.

Explore publications

2024 Program benefits

Apply now

Expense-paid trip to CAS Headquarters in Columbus, Ohio
August 12-17, 2024
  • $1,000 USD
  • 3-year ACS membership
  • Profile featured in C&EN (2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023 articles)
  • Complimentary registration for the ACS meeting
  • Opportunity to present your research at the ACS meeting
  • Complimentary registration for an ACS Professional and Leadership Development course at the ACS meeting
  • Lifetime membership in the CAS Future Leaders Community
Expense-paid trip to ACS Fall 2024 in Denver, Colorado
August 18-22, 2024
Team members
24

Apply now

CAS Future Leaders Top 100

The CAS Future Leaders Top 100 program recognizes additional outstanding applicants. This new initiative honors their accomplishments and provides exclusive benefits to support their science leadership growth.

  • Exclusive virtual leadership training and networking opportunities
  • Lifetime membership in the CAS Future Leaders Community
  • 1-year ACS membership

Testimonials

"Beyond learning life lessons and skills from top leaders in the chemical industry, participating in Future Leaders gave me the opportunity to connect with inspiring scientists from all over the world, creating strong friendships with remarkable individuals who continue to be a source of support and motivation long after finishing the program."

César A. Urbina-Blanco
2018
Alumni

"For a group of young scientists, strangers to one another, working in such diverse areas of chemical sciences, we connected on a level that no one had ever expected."

Felicia Phei Lin Lim
2018
Alumni

"Participating in the CAS Future Leaders program taught me the importance of being intentional with my leadership across various platforms. In the weeks that I spent in the program, it provided me with versatile tools to grow and become an impactful leader. It was truly a transformative experience."

Mahlet Garedew
2019
Alumni
View all testimonials

Frequently asked questions

Am I eligible to apply?

How do you define “postdoctoral scholar”?

What are the program dates?

What are the primary application requirements?

What should my essay include?

What should the letter of recommendation include?

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How are CAS Future Leaders selected?

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Contact us

Questions about the CAS Future Leaders program? See our FAQ and Terms & Conditions or email the CAS Future Leaders team.

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Stay connected with our CAS Future Leaders community on X (formerly Twitter), where we share updates, insights, and opportunities to engage with our program and alumni.

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Join our global network of Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars in chemistry and related sciences.

299 Alumni
38 countries/regions
See our full list of program alumni