BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University student Ronald Fowle Grider of East Peoria, Ill., is the recipient of an American Chemical Society (ACS) Scholar Program award.

The program awards minority students who want to enter the field of chemistry or other chemistry-related fields, such as environmental science, toxicology and chemical technology.

A sophomore chemistry major, Grider has been researching the synthesis of macrocyclic compounds. According to Chemistry Department Chair Rebecca Roesner, Grider also participated in a National Science Foundation-sponsored the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Southern Illinois University last summer, studying aspects of mass spectroscopy.

Grider is violinist in the Illinois Wesleyan Civic Orchestra and a volunteer at the Advocate BroMenn Medical Center.

The last Illinois Wesleyan student to receive the ACS award was alumna Laura Pinelo of Orange Park, Fla., who was honored in 2006.