KINGSVILLE (February 12, 2021) — Dr. Jingbo Liu, chemistry professor at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, was recently named one of the 2021 Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The announcement was made to coincide with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a global day celebrating achievement and promoting full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls.
Of the 12 women to receive this honor, only four are from the United States. The honorees will be presented their awards during the IUPAC World Chemistry Congress in August.
“It was a pleasant surprise to read my emails and find that I have become one of 12 awardees. The good news brings tears to my eyes,” Liu said. “I counted my blessings. The institutional support from Texas A&M-Kingsville, supervisors, collaborators, the nominators and recommendation letter writers set the foundation for this achievement.
“This honor is a catalyst to inspire me to try my best to contribute to education and research, empower the next generation and serve society to my fullest capacity,” she added.
“I believe women and men are the two parts of one entity (Yin and Yang), who work together to achieve the goals for the betterment of our society. During this pandemic, numerous studies indicated that women demonstrated strong and efficient leadership or managerial excellence,” Liu said. “Empowerment of women and girls is not only our responsibility, but it also is our pleasure, from which we learn and improve.”
“Dr. Liu’s achievement reflects her passion, commitment and excellence in her field and in the sciences,” said Dr. Dolores Guerrero, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “This award is an honor which represents not only our department and college, but also our university.
“Her recognition as a Distinguished Chemist by an international organization on International Day of Women and Girls in Sciences is inspiring and hopefully provides the encouragement for women and girls in our community to strive to pursue careers in the sciences,” she said. “Dr. Liu is an outstanding role model for all our students and illustrates the opportunities which are available for women in the sciences. We are extremely proud of all of Dr. Liu’s achievements.”
The awards program, initiated as part of the 2011 International Year of Chemistry celebrations, was created to acknowledge and promote the work of women chemists/chemical engineers worldwide. Each year, since 2011, the award has gained more attention in the community. The 12 awardees have been selected based on excellence in basic or applied research, distinguished accomplishments in teaching or education or demonstrated leadership or managerial excellence in the chemical sciences. The awards committee has been particularly interested in nominees with a history or leadership and/or community service during their careers.
About IUPAC
IUPAC was formed in 1919 by chemists from industry and academia. Since then, the union has succeeded in fostering worldwide communications in the chemical sciences and in uniting academic, industrial and public sector chemistry in a common language. IUPAC is recognized as the world authority on chemical nomenclature, terminology, standardized methods for measurement, atomic weights and many other critically evaluated data. In more recent years, IUPAC has been pro-active in establishing a wide range of conferences and projects designed to promote and stimulate modern developments in chemistry. More information about IUPAC and its activities is available at www.iupac.org.
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