NOTE TO EDITORS: A scanned photo of Geri Richmond is available in jpeg and tiff formats. To request a copy, call (541) 346-3134 or send e-mail to <rwest@oregon.uoregon.edu>.

EUGENE–University of Oregon physical chemist Geraldine Richmond has been named Outstanding Scientist for 2001 by the Oregon Academy of Sciences (OAS).

The OAS, which promotes science education and scientific research within the state, bestows the annual award on a scientist who has made significant contributions to basic or applied research in the natural, physical or social sciences.

Richmond is a nationally renowned chemist who is actively involved in teaching and research at the UO. The award is in recognition of her research in the use of state-of-the-art pulsed laser systems to study the reactions and properties at surfaces. Her research has made important contributions to understanding water surfaces and the effect of soaps and films on these water surfaces, chemical processes important to semiconductor processing, and the role of surfaces in important environmental and biological processes.

This award adds to a list of other distinguished awards that Richmond has received for her research. These include the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, two National Science Foundation Research Creativity Awards, and the Coblentz Society Spectroscopy Award. At the University of Oregon since 1985, she holds a Knight Distinguished Professorship in the Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Richmond’s research program, consisting of about a dozen researchers, is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Office of Naval Research and private foundations. In 1999, Richmond was appointed by Gov. John Kitzhaber to the Oregon State Board of Higher Education.

Founded in 1843, the OAS works to encourage communication among Oregon scientists, both private and public, and fosters the growth of tomorrow’s scientists. Official presentation of the award will take place at the annual meeting of the OAS scheduled for Feb. 24 at Portland State University.

Among recent recipients of the Outstanding Scientist Award are: Kent Thornburg, 2000; Leroy Klemm, 1999; Gertrude Rempfer, 1998; William G. Loy, 1997; A. Morrie Craig, 1996; Michael Posner and Paul Slovik, 1995; and Jane Lubchenco, 1994.

—30—

#G-7621/Local,PDX,OrDailies,OrSci,Special