Suplee has been named the 2002 recipient of the American Chemical Society’s James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public. Established in 1955, this annual award is the highest honor the Society gives for public communication about chemistry. Named after two former managers of the American Chemical Society’s News Service, the award aims to recognize, encourage, and stimulate outstanding reporting that promotes the public’s understanding and knowledge of chemistry, chemical engineering and related fields.
Suplee will be honored at a luncheon at the National Press Club on Oct. 12 and will receive $3000, a gold medal and bronze replica at the Society’s spring national meeting next March in Orlando.
Suplee — currently the director of the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs at the National Science Foundation — worked at the Washington Post for 23 years in a variety of positions, including science and medicine editor, science writer, and editor of HORIZON, an educational science supplement published from 1994 to 1999.
Prior to his career at the Post, Suplee was a press officer for Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, and taught English literature at Memphis State University and the University of Minnesota. Suplee has received a variety of awards, including the 1996 American Association for the Advancement of Science award for large newspaper science writing. He has authored three books and has written for numerous magazines, including Smithsonian, Harper’s and National Geographic.
Suplee received his B.A. with honors in English and philosophy from Trinity College in 1966 and his M.S. from the University of Minnesota in 1968. He resides in Silver Spring, Md., with his wife and two daughters.