Citation Honors Nelson

Donna J. Nelson, a professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma, has been named the recipient of the 2012 Oklahoma Chemist Award by the state’s five American Chemical Society local sections. The Oklahoma Chemist Award, which includes a $1,000 honorarium, recognizes significant contributions to chemistry through achievements in research, teaching, and public service in Oklahoma.

In recognition of Nelson’s receipt of the award, Scott C. Martin (R), a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, presented a citation to Nelson on the House floor on March 19. The citation states that Nelson is only the third native Oklahoman and the second woman to receive the Oklahoma Chemist Award since its inception in 1971. Nelson is the first chemist to receive a citation from the state’s House of Representatives.

At the University of Oklahoma, where she has been a professor for over 25 years, Nelson developed a uniform method for analyzing additions to alkenes and predicting their mechanisms. She is also working on functionalizing single-walled carbon nanotubes and determining their interactions at a molecular level.

During her career, Nelson has served the chemical enterprise in many ways, including quantifying the number of women and minorities on science and engineering faculties at research universities and advising Congress, the media, and professional organizations.