UO scientist wins international award.Byline: The Register-Guard A University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. professor is the first woman to win one of the most prestigious international prizes in chemistry, the Spiers Medal, given by Great Britain's Royal Society of Chemistry. Geri Richmond received the honor in recognition of her body of work on the surface chemistry of water and crystals, an important field with implications for understanding many biological and chemical processes. She pioneered the use of sophisticated lasers to study the chemistry of liquid surfaces and liquid-liquid interfaces, such as those between oil and water. Richmond, 51, has been at the UO since 1985. She said the award recognizes not only her work but the work of the many graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who have been part of her lab team over the years. "It really reflects on a long-term effort in our science and a culmination of a lot of people's work," she said. "This award really recognizes the work of many graduate students and postdocs in the group, so it's as much an honor for them as for me." Richmond is one of the UO's most productive and honored researchers. She has published 125 papers and has more in the works; her numerous awards include the Francis P. Garvan Medal from the American Chemistry Society, the Oregon Outstanding Scientist Award and the ACS (Asynchronous Communications Server) See network access server. Spectrochemical Analysis spectrochemical analysis Any of a group of chemical analysis methods that depend on measurement of the wavelength and intensity of electromagnetic radiation. It is used chiefly to determine the arrangement of atoms and electrons in molecules on the basis of the amounts of Award. Her work on the chemistry of water surfaces not only has implications for biology but also in semiconductor processing and environmental remediation Generally, remediation means providing a remedy, so environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water for the general protection of human health and the environment or from a . "Understanding the structure of water at surfaces is one of chemistry's great challenges," said Colin Bain of Oxford University's chemistry department. "This is at the core of understanding how proteins fold and how proteins and enzymes interact with the membrane that surrounds the cells in our bodies." The Spiers Medal, given to just one scientist each year, also recognizes Richmond's role as a mentor to young scientists, particularly women. She received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Engineering Mentoring in 1997 and is the founding chairwoman of COACh, the Committee on the Advancement of Women Chemists. Richmond also serves as vice president of the state Board of Higher Education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. and is helping direct a restructuring of the Oregon University System The Oregon University System (OUS) consists of seven public, four-year universities in the State of Oregon administered by the Chancellor of the OUS, who serves at the will and pleasure of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education. and its chancellor's office. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), private organization devoted to furthering the work of scientists and improving the effectiveness of science in the promotion of human welfare. and the American Physical Society The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the world's second largest organization of physicists. The Society publishes more than a dozen science journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than twenty science and holds an endowed position as the Richard and Patricia Noyes Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. |
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