2026 James Flack Norris Awardees Announced
Professor Christina Goudreau Collison, Ph.D.
to receive the 2026 James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding
Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society (NESACS) will present the 2026 James Flack Norris Award to:
Christina Goudreau Collison, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry
School of Chemistry and Materials Science
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY
The award is for work revolutionizing the teaching of organic chemistry by pioneering the use of Sign Language Incorporation in Chemistry Education (SLICE) and implementing it in both lecture courses as well as in her novel guided-inquiry lab curriculum, REActivities. The SLICE project is a research effort that aims to improve cognitive gains for not only Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH) students but for all students in organic chemistry courses. Professor Collison will be recognized at the upcoming NESACS Awards Banquet on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at Simmons University in Boston, MA. This recognition celebrates Professor Goudreau’s outstanding achievements in the teaching of chemistry and its impact across communities.
Using sign language to convey a concept is a powerful way for students to think about the electron pushing formalisms we write on paper and recognize mechanistic trends. Using our hands as models transforms the two-dimensional static framework of writing symbolic drawings on our page into 3-D opportunities for students to conceptualize a molecule or even a transition state. The Sign Language Incorporation in Chemistry Education (SLICE) project was initiated by a group of faculty and D/HH students at the Rochester Institute of Technology to address the language vacuum of STEM signs in organic chemistry. The result of this work has had a positive impact on the classroom culture and performance gains of D/HH students taking organic chemistry courses. Now, efforts have begun to explore the impact of universal design across all students in the organic chemistry curriculum.
These efforts have demonstrated a substantial and sustained impact across organic chemistry and STEM communities and are worthy of recognition with the 2026 James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry.
The James Flack-Norris Award is the first national award to recognize outstanding achievement in the teaching of chemistry. Established in 1950 by NESACS to honor the memory of James Flack Norris, Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a teacher of great repute, the award recognizes dedicated teachers of chemistry at any level whose efforts have had a wide-ranging effect on chemical education.
For further information on the James Flack Norris Award, contact the Norris Award Committee Chair, Mark Tebbe (tebbe.mj@gmail.com). Additional details will be available on the NESACS website, www.nesacs.org.
NESACS has approximately 3,600 members. The mission of the Northeastern Section of the ACS is cultivating and celebrating an inclusive chemistry community by supporting outreach, education, safety, and collaboration for a sustainable future. More information on NESACS initiatives can be found on our website, www.nesacs.org. For additional inquiries about NESACS, contact the NESACS Administrative Coordinator at admin at nesacs.org.
