Orna Wins Henry Hill Award; Call for Nominations

Sister Mary Virginia Orna, a senior scientist in residence at the College of New Rochelle, is the recipient of the 2008 Henry Hill Award, presented by the ACS Division of Professional Relations to honor outstanding achievement in the area of professional relations.

Orna, who is internationally known for her analyses of colorants and dyes used in medieval paints and documents, often serves as a consultant for museums and art collectors to validate the authenticity of paintings. She is the author or coauthor of 35 scientific papers written in English, Italian, and Hebrew.

Orna is a councilor for the ACS Division of the History of Chemistry and has served on the Committee on Nominations & Elections, the Committee on Committees, and the Council Policy Committee. She was a Fulbright Fellow in Israel, where she lectured at Hebrew University, Weizmann Institute of Science, and Shenkar College of Textile Technology. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the ACS Northeastern Section’s James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry, the Chemical Manufacturers Association’s Catalyst Award, the Merck Innovation Award, and ACS’s George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education.