Elsa Reichmanis Receives International Recognition

Elsa Reichmanis, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, is among 11 women from around the world who have been named a 2013 Distinguished Woman in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering by the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

The award, created in 2011 as part of the International Year of Chemistry, acknowledges and promotes the work of women chemists and chemical engineers worldwide. The awardees will be honored during a special ceremony at the 2013 IUPAC World Chemistry Congress in Istanbul in August.

Reichmanis was chosen for her accomplishments in teaching and research, her leadership in the chemical sciences, and her service to the chemistry community. Reichmanis has held a number of leadership roles in the American Chemical Society, including serving as president in 2003.

“I’m both humbled and honored to be recognized by this award,” she says. “Throughout my career, I have been privileged to be a part of organizations where mentorship was and is a real part of the culture. I only hope that I will be able to repay the support I’ve received through giving back to the community.”

The other recipients of the IUPAC award are Irina P. Beletskaya of Moscow State University, in Russia; Annette Doherty of GlaxoSmithKline, in the U.K.; Mary Garson of the University of Queensland, in Australia; Evamarie Hey-Hawkins of the University of Leipzig, in Germany; Kazue Kurihara of Tohoku University, in Japan; Liliana Mammino of the University of Venda, in South Africa; Concepció Rovira of the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona, in Spain; Maria Vallet-Regi of the Universidad Complutense, in Spain; Angela Wilson of the University of North Texas; and Yi Xie of the University of Science & Technology of China.