Ott Lecture to feature award-winning chemist, educator

An award-winning chemist and educator, recognized for her research regarding what happens when solids, liquids and gases combine, will be the featured speaker at the fall Arnold C. Ott Lectureship in Chemistry at Grand Valley State University.

Geraldine Richmond is currently Presidential Chair and professor of chemistry at University of Oregon. She is also the founder and chair of COACh, a grass-roots organization assisting in the advancement of women scientists in both the U.S. and developing countries.

While visiting Grand Valley, Richmond will give a public lecture and a chemistry seminar for students both in the Grand River Room located in the Kirkhof Center on the Allendale Campus.

Her lecture, “Surf, Sink or Swim: Understanding How Environmentally Important Molecules Behave at Water Surfaces,” will take place Tuesday, October 20, at 6 p.m. with a preceding reception at 5 p.m.

Richmond’s seminar, “Going Nonlinear to Study Molecular Assembly at Oil-Water Interfaces,” will take place Wednesday, October 21, at 1 p.m.

“Dr. Richmond studies what happens at the interfaces between and among phases of matter,” said Jessica VandenPlas, assistant professor of chemistry. “For example, how do oil and water behave when they are mixed? If you have a beaker of water, what is happening at the interface between the water and the air? Dr. Richmond uses computer simulations to do calculations, as well as uses optical spectroscopy, the interaction of light and matter, to study these interfaces.”

Richmond has also served on many science boards and advisory panels, including the U.S. State Department as the 2015-2016 Science Envoy for the Mekong River countries, and the National Science Board as a Presidential Appointee. She additionally acts as the current president of American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The Arnold C. Ott Lectureship in Chemistry was created and endowed by a gift from Arnold C. and Marion Ott. Arnold Ott was a leading chemist and entrepreneur in West Michigan. He was also one of the co-founders of Grand Valley and served on the Board of Trustees for 28 years.

For more information, contact Grand Valley’s Chemistry Department at (616) 331-3317 or visit the Chemistry Department website.