Geri Richmond - Understanding Environmentally Important Processes at Water Surfaces

Summary: Although the special properties of water have been valued and appreciated for centuries, as scientists we continue to be perplexed by the molecular make-up of water in all its forms. Equally perplexing is the surface of water, a surface that is involved in some of most important reactions in our atmosphere, a surface that can sculpt the landscape as it flows past rocks and soils, a surface that can break down the strongest of metals, and a surface across which essential nutrients and ions are constantly exchanged in life-sustaining processes in our bodies. In our laboratory we study environmentally important processes at aqueous surfaces using laser based spectroscopic techniques and molecular dynamics simulations. I will focus my talk on our recent studies of the intriguing behavior of water surfaces when in contact with molecules of importance in our environment. Geraldine Richmond is the Richard M. and Patricia H. Noyes Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oregon. Richmond received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Kansas State University (1975) and her Ph.D. in chemical physics at the University of California, Berkeley (1980) where she worked under the mentorship of Prof. George Pimentel. She has distinguished herself in her research using nonlinear optical spectroscopy and computational methods applied to understanding the chemistry that occurs at complex surfaces and interfaces that have relevance to important problems in energy production, environmental remediation, atmospheric chemistry and biomolecular surfaces. Over 160 publications have resulted from this research. Recent awards for her scientific accomplishments include the American Chemical Society Garvan Medal (1996), the Oregon Scientist of the Year by the Oregon Academy of Science (2001), the Spectrochemical Analysis Award of the American Chemical Society (2002), the Spiers Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2004), a Guggenheim Fellowship (2007) and the Bomem-Michaelson Award (2008). She has been selected as a fellow of the American Physical Society (1993), the American Association of the Advancement of Science (2004), the Association of Women in Science (2008), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2006). Richmond has also played an important role in setting the national scientific agenda through her service on many science boards and advisory panels. Most recent appointments include: Associate Editor of Annual Reviews of Physical Chemistry (2006-2008), Chair of the Science Advisory Committee of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (2006-2008), Chair of the Chemistry Section, Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2009-2010), Chair of the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Board of the Department of Energy (1998-2003) and as a governor appointee to the State of Oregon Board of Higher Education where she served as a member, Vice President and interim President over her seven year term (1999-2006). She has testified on science issues before committees in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Oregon House of Representatives. She is the founder and chair of COACh (Committee on the Advancement of Women Chemists), an organization assisting in the advancement of women faculty in the sciences. Over 3000 science faculty, students, postdocs and administrators have benefitted from professional training and networking workshops developed by COACh. She has been honored for these efforts and related efforts on women in science by the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Engineering Mentoring (1997), the American Chemical Society Award for Encouraging Women in the Chemical Sciences (2005) the Council on Chemical Research Diversity Award (2006).