FAME Conference
The Florida Annual Meeting and Exposition (FAME) is the premier annual event hosted by the Florida Section of the American Chemical Society (FL-ACS).
This vibrant gathering brings together chemists from across Florida and beyond for a dynamic weekend of scientific exchange, featuring technical symposia, invited lectures, poster presentations, and networking opportunities. FAME provides an excellent platform for students, faculty, and industry professionals to showcase their research, connect with peers, and celebrate advancements in chemistry.
The 102nd FAME is scheduled for September 18–20, 2026, at the beautiful Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. Join us at this can’t-miss event!
Not an ACS member yet? It’s easy to sign up! Your membership will help support FAME and the Florida local section. Abstracts are due August 25, 2026. Early registration ends September 1, 2026.
NOTE: You must be registered to present posters or oral talks.
Reserve your room at Innisbrook: book your stay here!
Registration Fees
- ACS members: $165 early, $300 late
- ACS nonmembers: $330 early, $540 late
- Retired ACS members: $85 early, $120 late
- High school and middle school teachers: $75 early, $100 late
- High school students: $45 early, $60 late
- Undergraduate students: $55 early, and $75 late
- Graduate students: $65, and $90 late
- 50+ year ACS members: $50
Onsite payment? If your institution can not pay via Paypal or any other methods we use, please register, but with the onsite payment method. We can accept cash and checks.
On-site Registration and payment? Add $50 to the late registration fee if plan to register and pay on site. We can accept cash and checks.
Invited speakers are being organized for the following symposia: Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biophysical Chemistry, Chemical Education, Computational Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, Natural Products Chemistry, Mass Spectrometry, Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, and Polymer Chemistry.
During the meeting, exhibitors will be provided spaces in the foyer of the convention center to provide the best access to meeting participants. Space will allow for about 10-15 exhibitors. The registration for a table is $1,000. This needs to be submitted by August 21, 2026.
Helium
Carbon
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Titanium
Custom
To be announced! YOU make FAME’s program. Submit your abstract today!
The Fame Committee is pleased to announce the inaugural FAME conference plenary lecture will be by Dr Wayne Jones, the current Chair of the ACS Board of Directors! Wayne E. Jones Jr. is a faculty member at the University of New Hampshire where he has served as dean and provost over the past eight years. He earned a B.S. from St. Michael’s College in 1987 and a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1991. He has been a member of ACS since 1989.
Plenary Lecture
Prof. Lisa McElwee-White received her B.S. in Chemistry with Highest Distinction and Honors in Chemistry from the University of Kansas. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology (lab of Dennis A. Dougherty) and conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University (lab of James P. Collman).
She joined the Stanford University faculty as Assistant Professor of Chemistry in 1985. In 1993, she moved to the University of Florida as Associate Professor, was promoted to Professor in 1997, and now holds the Colonel Allen R. and Margaret G. Crow Professorship. She has served as Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and as Chair of the Department of Chemistry.
Dr. McElwee-White is an organometallic chemist whose research focuses on mechanism-based design of organometallic precursors for the deposition of inorganic thin films and nanostructures by techniques such as chemical vapor deposition. Her group’s interdisciplinary work spans organic, inorganic, and materials chemistry, with applications in materials science and collaborations across academia, national laboratories, and industry.
She has received numerous honors, including the Southern Chemist Award (2024), Paul G. Gassman Distinguished Service Award (2024), Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal (2019), Charles H. Herty Medal (2019), and Florida Award (2015). Her contributions include extensive service to the American Chemical Society and editorial roles for major journals.
Florida Award
The 2026 Florida Award is presented to Dr. Steven A. Benner. Dr. Benner’s work has fundamentally reshaped the chemical understanding of genetics, evolution, and the origins of life. He earned his undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University, and his PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University. He has held professorial appointments at Harvard University, ETH Zurich, and the University of Florida, where he served as the V.T. & Louise Jackson Distinguished Professor of Chemistry.
In 2005, Dr. Benner founded the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution (FfAME) and the Westheimer Institute of Science and Technology (TWIST), organizations dedicated to advancing chemistry at the interface of biology, evolution, and technology. He has also founded biotechnology companies including EraGen Biosciences and Firebird BioMolecular Sciences LLC, and has contributed foundational technologies to multiple additional companies—among them Alantos, Bayer, Siemens, and DNA Script—supporting platforms in drug discovery, molecular diagnostics, and biotechnology. His innovations have led to diagnostic products widely used in medicine and to new strategies for developing novel classes of therapeutics.
Dr. Benner’s laboratory achieved several historic scientific milestones. It was the first to synthesize a gene encoding an enzyme, an achievement that helped establish synthetic biology as a field and enabled new methods for DNA synthesis and sequencing. He also led the first successful efforts to construct DNA systems containing more than four nucleotide building blocks, expanding the genetic alphabet from four letters to twelve and demonstrating that heredity is a fundamentally chemical phenomenon not limited to natural DNA. His work further advanced dynamic combinatorial chemistry, enabling the discovery of small-molecule therapeutic leads, and laid the foundations of paleo-molecular biology through the reconstruction and study of ancestral biomolecules.
In biology, Dr. Benner was instrumental in establishing paleogenetics, in which ancestral genes and proteins from extinct organisms are resurrected and studied experimentally to understand molecular evolution. He has also been a leading figure in astrobiology, developing experimental frameworks for the origin of life, investigating exotic chemistries on worlds such as Venus and Titan, and devising strategies to detect extraterrestrial life that may differ fundamentally from life on Earth.
Dr. Benner’s honors include the Dreyfus Award for Young Faculty, a Sloan Foundation Fellowship, and election as a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life. He is the author of Life, the Universe, and the Scientific Method and is completing a new book on extant life on Mars, scheduled for publication in Summer 2026.
Florida Showcase Symposium
The Florida Showcase Symposium features senior members of the Florida local section and the breadth and quality of their research or educational activities. Specifics to be announced!
Browse Last Year’s Program
FAME would not be possible without our generous supporters. Sponsorships funds our student scholarships, invited speakers, and our receptions.