Cherlynlavaughn Bradley

Cherlynlavaughn Bradley, 62, a retired BP senior research scientist, died on Aug. 30.

A native of Chicago, Bradley received a B.A. in chemistry magna cum laude from Illinois Wesleyan University, in Bloomington, in 1973. She earned an M.S. in 1975 and a Ph.D. in 1978, both in inorganic chemistry from Northwestern University under A. Louis Allred.

Bradley joined Amoco’s analytical services division in Naperville, Ill., in 1977 as a research chemist. She rose up the technical ladder to become a senior research scientist responsible for the development and implementation of technology and methods for determining volatile sulfur-, nitrogen-, and oxygen-containing compounds in petroleum and petrochemicals using gas chromatography methods.

Bradley contributed to the commercial development of an improved microwave plasma GC detector for selective element detection and was the quality-assurance coordinator for the company’s analytical services division. She served the company’s refining technology groups as an analytical liaison and consultant and also as a member of its diversity action council. Bradley retired in 1999, following Amoco’s merger with BP.

She authored or coauthored numerous publications in Analytical Chemistry and Energy & Fuels.

Bradley joined ACS in 1974. At the national level, she served on the Nominations & Elections Committee, the Committee on Committees, and the Project SEED Committee. She was named an ACS Fellow in 2012. Bradley was also active in the Chicago Section, serving in numerous roles including councilor and chair. She earned the section’s Distinguished Service Award in 2002.

In retirement, Bradley was active with the BP Volunteers program and the Court Friends program, which helps prevent abuse of disabled adults and the elderly, and served as secretary and a board member of North Star Credit Union. She volunteered with the Morton Arboretum and was a member of Saint Eulalia Parish, where she served as parish council secretary.

Bradley had no immediate survivors.