OSU gives Linus Pauling Legacy Award to UO’s Richmond

University of Oregon chemist Geri Richmond has earned another accolade. She’s won the Linus Pauling Legacy Award from Oregon State University.

The award, given by the OSU Libraries and Press, recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions in a subject of interest to Pauling. Pauling, an OSU graduate who was born in Portland in 1901 and died in 1994, won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1954 and the Nobel Peace Prize for antinuclear and peace activism in 1962.

“Geri Richmond embodies the spirit of research and teaching excellence that we all aspire to at the University of Oregon,” said Provost and Senior Vice President Jayanth Banavar.

“Her ongoing legacy is long-lasting and is being carried out by the successful graduate students and undergraduate students that she works so closely with,” he said. “Geri is an important role model and beacon for young women who might be interested in the STEM areas of study. I congratulate her on this award, and I am very much looking forward to seeing more of her fantastic work in the future.”

Richmond, a National Medal of Science winner in 2013 and the UO’s Presidential Chair in Science, is the 10th winner of the Linus Pauling Legacy Award. As the newest recipient, she will talk on “The Importance of Global Scientific Engagement” at 7 p.m. May 22 at OSU’s Valley Library. Admission is free.

Richmond joined the UO in 1985. Her research on the chemical processes that occur on liquid surfaces have benefited energy production, the remediation of chemical spills and atmospheric chemistry.

Richmond also founded COACh, a grassroots organization that has helped more than 20,000 women scientists and engineers in career advancement in the United States and developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences and National Science Board. Richmond also is a U.S. science envoy to the Lower Mekong River countries, a fellow and past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and incoming president of the Sigma Xi Scientific Honor Society. Last year she received the Priestley Medal, the highest honor of the American Chemical Society.