January 2025
Dorothy Hodgkin
November 14th to December 20th is Disability History Month, highlighting the barriers that those with disability face in chemistry. Britain’s only female chemistry Nobel laureate (1964), Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in her late 20s, leading to difficulty performing lab tasks. However, she created her own physical accommodation by using long levers rather than switches on the X-ray diffraction instrument. This aid allowed her to continue her ground-breaking experiments which eventually led to the discovery of the 3D structure of penicillin, vitamin B12, and insulin. After her discovery, she participated in the initial meetings that led to the formation of the International Union of Crystallography. Dorothy’s story of perseverance despite a painful diagnosis and her dedication to science is inspiring. To quote her, Dorothy “was captured for life by chemistry and crystals”.
To read more about the laureate as well as the full article about Disability History Month, check out the link below: https://www.rsc.org/news-events/opinions/2024/12-december/disability-history-month/
February 2025
Dr. Hind Al-Abadleh
Dr. Hind Al-Abadleh was a distinguished scientist, educator, and leader in environmental chemistry. She served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Resource Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso, following a tenure as a Professor of Chemistry at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her research focused on air quality management using low-cost monitors, atmospheric aerosol chemistry, the geochemistry of arsenic, phosphorus, and soil organics, as well as environmental remediation through nanomaterials. Beyond her scientific contributions, she played key leadership roles, including serving as the Chair of the CIC Environment Division and the CMOS Atmosphere-Related Research in Canadian Universities.
Born and raised in the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Al-Abadleh graduated high school as one of the top 10 students in the country before earning her BSc in Chemistry from the United Arab Emirates University. She later pursued a PhD at the University of Iowa, where she was awarded the University of Iowa Dissertation Prize in Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering. Dr. Al-Abadleh’s impact extended far beyond her research. She was a devoted mentor, inspiring countless students and colleagues alike with her enthusiasm and dedication to science. Dr. Hind Al-Abadleh passed away in January 2025, leaving behind an enduring legacy of scientific excellence, mentorship, and leadership.
March 2025
Dorothy Jean Phillips
Dorothy Jean Phillips is a distinguished chemist and leader, currently serving as the 2025 President of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Phillips was born in 1945 in Nashville, Tennessee, as one of eight children in her family. Growing up during segregation, Phillips grew up to be a trailblazer and her perseverance paved the way for other Black chemists, particularly women. She was the first African American woman to earn a chemistry degree from Vanderbilt University and later became the first Black woman to receive a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Cincinnati.
Phillips began her career at Dow Chemical Company in 1974 as a research scientist, specializing in circular dichroism spectroscopy and antibiotic research, work that led to several patents. Throughout her time at Dow, she was committed in fostering an inclusive scientific community, helping to establish a chapter of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChe) in Midland, Michigan. In 1984, she joined Waters Corporation where she played a key role in developing novel chromatography columns and separation techniques. Under her leadership, her team developed the Accell Plus and Protein-Pak families of sorbents for biomolecules separation. As Water shifted expanded into pharmaceutical and environmental applications, Phillips played a critical role to the development of the Symmetry family of columns and their Oasis solid-phase extraction products – products that are still being sold today. After 30 years, Phillips retired from Waters in 2013 as the Director of Strategic Marketing.
Beyond her research and industry experiences, Phillips was dedicated in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, in the chemical sciences, especially through her involvement in ACS. While at Waters, she led ACS Project Seed, an initiative providing STEM learning opportunities for high school students from lower socioeconomic groups and underrepresented backgrounds. Phillips also served in various ACS leadership roles, such as the Committee on Membership Affairs and the Chair of the ACS Analytical Chemistry Division. Since 2014, she has represented ACS in the Science and Human Rights Coalition of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. As the 2025 ACS President, Phillips is focused on leveraging her industrial background to attract more industrial professionals to ACS and hopes inspire next generation of scientists and serve as a role models for them.
You can read more about Dorothy J. Philips here: https://cen.acs.org/acs-news/Dorothy-J-Phillips-wants-broaden/103/i1
April 2025
Barbara Belmont
Barbara Belmont is an advocate for LGBTQ+ activism and leads the way for queer women in chemistry. She did her Bachelor’s degree at La Verne College, now the University of La Verne, where she did three majors in chemistry, biology, and math. She then briefly worked as a technician in a clinical laboratory then as a formulation chemist for three years. In 1983, Belmont became the lab director at American Research and Testing, an analytical testing laboratory. This is where she found her passion for analytical chemistry. She went on to get a Professional Science Master’s degree at the Illinois Institute of Technology in analytical chemistry. Belmont is currently a lecturer at California State University Dominguez Hills where she strives to be the queer role model for younger scientists that she never got to have.
In the early 1980s, she got involved with a local organization of gay and lesbian scientists in Los Angeles, and that organization is now known as Out to Innovate, and she has served as its treasurer since 1986. This organization partnered with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and presented symposia and their national meetings on AIDS research, transgender studies, health-care disparities for LGBTQ+ people, and diversity and inclusion, among others. Belmont was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2002 and as an ACS fellow in 2013. In 2017, she was the recipient of Out to Innovate’s Walt Westman Award, the organization’s highest national honour. Belmont co-founded the Gay and Transgender Chemists and Allies subdivision of the ACS Division of Professional Relations.
You can read more about Barbara Belmont here: https://cen.acs.org/articles/100/i12/Barbara-Belmont-is-devoted-to-nurturing-the-next-generation-of-scientists.html