The following is an excerpt from the abstract of the lecture: “Since the Romans first spread oil on water to calm the raging seas, curiosity has persisted about the unique nature of the interface between water and a hydrophobic liquid, including how surfactants and dispersants absorb at this unique junction.” Dr. Richmond’s research is crucial to understanding many world problems, including the interaction of water with soils, metal ion transport across membranes, toxic metal complexation, and oil spill clean-ups.
Dr. Richmond is the Presidential Chair in Science and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oregon, where her research has focused on understanding environmentally important processes at water surfaces. She is currently serving as a member of the National Science Board, as the U.S. Science Envoy to the Lower Mekong River Countries and as Secretary of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is recent past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is the incoming president of the Sigma Xi Scientific Honor Society. Awards for her scientific accomplishments include the 2018 Priestley Medal from the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Linus Pauling medal Award (2018), and the the National Medal of Science (2013).