The recipients of the ACS awards are honoured for contributions of major significance to chemistry. Schoenmakers receives the ACS Award in Chromatography for 'outstanding and innovative contributions to the fields of polymer analysis and multidimensional liquid chromatography and his relentless efforts to promote chromatography in general'.

Active promotor of chromatography

In its prize announcement, ACS quotes analytical chemist Gert Desmet of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, who considers Schoenmakers the most relentless and active promoter of the field of chromatography. "Whenever he is chairing a session, heading a poster or award committee, organizing a meeting, or giving a talk, he radiates an unconditional love and passion for the field and always goes at length to maximally involve the younger generations and newcomers in the field. His talks are always very educational and at the same time so highly entertaining that they always draw large crowds.”

ACS also quotes Schoenmakers about his most memorable project. He refers to the group's efforts to realize spatial three-dimensional liquid chromatography: "We are not yet close, but since it promises a three orders of magnitude increase in separation power in comparison with conventional one-dimensional LC (and two orders of magnitude in comparison with comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography), why give up?"

See also

• Prize announcement American Chemical Society
• Research group Analytical Chemistry
• Centre for Analytical Sciences Amsterdam