On March 5, 2013 Neil Baldwin was one of the five 2012 Illinois Heartland Section American Chemical Society (ACS) Collegiate Scholars honored.  ACS awards the honor to recipients based on their grade point average, contributions to research in the field and overall involvement in activities.

Baldwin worked with Professor of Chemistry Ram Mohan since the second semester of his sophomore year, which concluded at the end of his junior year. He has worked on developing environmentally friendly organic synthesis using iron compounds. Iron compounds are relatively non toxic, easy to handle and inexpensive. In particular, his work has focused on converting alcohols to esters. In the past, many corrosive or toxic catalysts have been used for the same transformation.