Sposito is internationally recognized for his research on environmental aqueous geochemistry applied to terrestrial ecosystems, soils, and aquifers. His hundreds of publications and books in this area mark him as the world's foremost authority on surface coordination chemistry and transport in porous media. He is a Foreign Member of the French Academy of Agriculture, Horton Medal winner from the American Geophysical Union, and a Highly-Cited Researcher in the area of Ecology and the Environment by the Institute for Scientific Information.
Each “legend” presented a 50-minute talk on his or her professional accomplishments that was videotaped for archiving by the Chemical Heritage Foundation. The talks are available to teachers and others interested in the history of environmental chemistry.
Other symposium speakers included Nobel Chemistry Laureate Sherwood Rowland, atmospheric scientist John Seinfeld, and water chemists Charles O’Melia and René Schwarzenbach.
The American Chemical Society is the world’s largest scientific organization.