Chemistry professor Grinias elected ACS division chair-elect, earns national honors

James P. Grinias, Ph.D., professor of chemistry in Rowan University’s College of Science & Mathematics, has received a leadership role and national recognition in the field of analytical chemistry. 

Grinias recently was elected chair-elect of the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry, the society’s third-largest technical division with about 5,000 members. The division serves researchers from academia, industry and government laboratories worldwide and helps shape priorities in analytical chemistry research and education. He will serve in various capacities in the division over the next four years. His official term as chair begins in 2029. 

In a statement to division members during his campaign, Grinias told members: “I firmly believe that analytical chemistry and measurement science play a central role in the scientific endeavor, providing the tools, methods, and techniques that many other branches of research need to operate.” 

He plans to bridge the gap between research and application, building relationships between members of the analytical chemistry community across the globe. His election places a Rowan faculty member in a prominent leadership position within one of the world’s largest scientific organizations and further highlights the University’s growing reputation in analytical chemistry research. 

An expert in liquid chromatography instrumentation and methods, Grinias was also named to The Analytical Scientist’s Top 40 Under 40 Power List, which celebrates the “individuals set to define the future of the field.” Featured in the publication’s October issue, Grinias made the list twice before, in 2018 and 2022.

Grinias has also received recognition from the Greek America Foundation as a member of its 2026 Forty Under 40 list. The accolade notes his contributions to analytical chemistry and his dedication to Hellenic culture and the Orthodox faith communities in the metro Philadelphia region. He will be honored at a reception for awardees in New York City in November.

Grinias previously received the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award and the National Institutes of Health’s Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award for Early Stage Investigators, two of the nation’s most prestigious honors for early-career faculty. The awards recognized his work to advance analytical tools used in pharmaceutical, environmental and biomedical research, as well as his commitment to training undergraduate and graduate students in analytical chemistry.