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Geraldine Richmond
Geri Richmond
Under Secretary of Energy for Science
Incumbent
Assumed office November 15, 2021
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Paul Dabbar
Personal details
Born	(1953-01-17) January 17, 1953 (age 71) Salina, Kansas, US
Spouse	Stephen Kevan
Children	2
Education	Kansas State University (BS); University of California, Berkeley (PhD)
Known for	Chemistry and physics of complex surfaces and interfaces relevant to energy production, atmospheric chemistry, environmental remediation; Advocacy and mentorship for women in science
Awards	National Medal of Science Davisson-Germer Prize Garvan-Olin Medal

Geraldine Lee Richmond (born January 17, 1953, in Salina, Kansas) is an American chemist and physical chemist who is serving as the Under Secretary of Energy for Science in the US Department of Energy. Richmond was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to her role on November 5, 2021. In this position, she oversees the Office of Science, the Applied Energy offices, and 13 of the 17 Department of Energy national laboratories. Before this appointment, Richmond served as a Professor of Physical Chemistry and held the Presidential Chair in Science at the University of Oregon. Her research has focused on understanding the chemistry and physics of complex surfaces and interfaces, using laser-based experimental and theoretical computational methods. These understandings are most relevant to energy production, atmospheric chemistry and remediation of the environment. Throughout her career she has also worked to increase the number and success of women scientists in the U.S. and in many developing countries through the COACh program that she founded in 1999. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In recognition of her scientific achievements and contributions to women in science, she received the National Medal of Science from President Obama in 2013.

Education

Richmond received her B.S. in chemistry in 1975 from Kansas State University and her Ph.D. in 1980 at University of California, Berkeley, in physical chemistry.

Career

From 1980 to 1985 she was an assistant professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College. Since 1985, Richmond has been at UO, from 1985 to 1991 as an associate professor of chemistry, and as a professor since 1991. Until 1995 she was director of the Chemical Physics Institute. During her time there, she has held the Knight Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences position (1998-2001), the Richard M. and Patricia H. Noyes Professor position (2001-2013), and currently holds the Presidential Chair in Science. Her teaching has primarily focused on introductory chemistry and courses designed for non-science majors. Richmond’s scientific research explores the chemical and physical processes occurring at complex buried interfaces. Her work extensively uses laser-based spectroscopy experiments combined with theoretical computational methods. She has investigated the hydrogen bonding of surface water molecules at metal/water, air/water, and oil/water interfaces, as well as the adsorption of surfactants, salts, acids, polymers, and other solutes at these interfaces.

A significant focus of her studies at air-water interfaces has been on the adsorption and reactivity of atmospherically important species, including carbon dioxide, sulfur-containing compounds, and small organic molecules relevant to climate change and air pollution. More recently, her research has expanded to understanding the molecular factors that contribute to the surface stabilization of nanoemulsions. This work is particularly relevant to applications such as environmental remediation and drug delivery.

Richmond is the founding director of  COACh, a grassroots organization based out of the University of Oregon that conducts research on challenges that women and minority groups face in achieving their STEM career aspirations.  It also provides career building workshops aimed at increasing the number and success of women scientists in the U.S. and in many developing countries around the globe. Over 25,000 women scientists have been benefitted from the COACh programs that continue today.  

Service

Richmond was appointed by Governor Kitzhaber to the Oregon State Board of Higher Education from 1999 to 2003 and reappointed by Governor Kulongoski from 2004 to 2006. From 1998 to 2003 she served as chair of the Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC). In 2014, Richmond was elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for a term beginning in February 2015. In 2014, she was appointed by Secretary John Kerry to serve as the Science Envoy for the Lower Mekong River Countries. She was appointed by President Obama to the National Science Board for a term of 2012–2016 and reappointed by President Trump from 2016 to 2022. Since 2016 she has served as Secretary of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is the 2019–2020 President of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society.

Richmond is director of the NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at the University of Oregon. Started in 1987 it is one of the longest-running REU programs in the United States. In the over 30 years of the REU program, it has hosted over 400 undergraduates from across the country with 90% continuing to graduate school.

Honors

• 1989 Coblentz Society Spectroscopy Award
• 1993 Fellow, American Physical Society, "For seminal contributions to the understanding of dynamics at interfaces accomplished by innovative applications of nonlinear optical phenomena."
• 1996 Francis P. Garvan-Olin Medal of the American Chemical Society
• 1997 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Engineering Mentoring
• 2001 Oregon Outstanding Scientist Award, Oregon Academy of Science
• 2003 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• 2004 Spiers Medal of the UK Royal Society of Chemistry
• 2006 Council on Chemical Research Diversity Award
• 2006 Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 2008 Bomem-Michaelson Award
• 2008 Fellow, Association for Women in Science
• 2011 Fellow, American Chemical Society
• 2011 Joel Henry Hildebrand Award of the American Chemical Society, "For pioneering applications of nonlinear optical spectroscopies and modeling of liquid surfaces and the resulting new understanding of water structure and bonding at liquid interfaces."
• 2011 Member, National Academy of Sciences
• 2013 Charles Lathrop Parsons Award of the American Chemical Society, "For distinguished public service to chemistry through advocacy for higher education, wise counsel and leadership in national science policy, and tireless advocacy for women chemists."
• 2013 Davisson-Germer Prize for "elegant elucidation of the molecular structure and organization of liquid-liquid and liquid-air interfaces using nonlinear optical spectroscopies"
• 2013 National Medal of Science for “her landmark discoveries of the molecular characteristics of water; for her creative demonstration of how her findings impact many key biological, chemical and technological processes; and for her extraordinary efforts in the United States and around the globe to promote women in science"
• 2014 Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award of the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh
• 2017 Honorary Doctorate Degree, Illinois Institute of Technology
• 2017 Honorary Doctorate Degree, Kansas State University
• 2018 Linus Pauling Award, Northwest Region American Chemical Society
• 2018 Priestley Medal of the American Chemical Society
• 2019 Linus Pauling Legacy Award, Oregon State University
• 2020 Oregon History Maker, Oregon Historical Society
• 2020 Dickson Prize, Carnegie Mellon University
• 2021 Oregon History Maker, Oregon Historical Society
• 2023 Othmer Gold Medal, Science History Institute

References

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2. "President Biden Announces 16 Key Administration Nominations". The White House. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
3. ^ "UO's Geraldine Richmond confirmed as undersecretary of science and energy for DOE". KLCC NPR for Oregonians. 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
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5. "National Science Board". National Science Board. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
6. "COACh International". COACh. 2014-12-20. Archived from the original on 2016-11-22. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
7. "Geraldine L. Richmond | American Academy of Arts and Sciences". www.amacad.org. 2024-11-04. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
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9. "Geri Richmond". richmondscience.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
10. Richmond, G. L.; Robinson, J. M.; Shannon, V. L. (1988-01-01). "Second harmonic generation studies of interfacial structure and dynamics". Progress in Surface Science. 28 (1): 1–70. Bibcode:1988PrSS...28....1R. doi:10.1016/0079-6816(88)90005-6. ISSN 0079-6816.
11. Richmond, G. L. (1986-03-01). "Characterization of the silver-aqueous electrolyte interface by optical second harmonic generation". Langmuir. 2 (2): 132–139. doi:10.1021/la00068a003. ISSN 0743-7463.
12. "Optica Publishing Group". opg.optica.org. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
13. Shannon, Victoria (July 15, 1987). "The observation of rotational anisotropy in the second harmonic intensity from a Ag(111) electrode".
14. Robinson, J.M. (January 1, 2009). "Monitoring surface structure and interfacial properties via second harmonic generation". Pure and Applied Chemistry. 59 (10): 1263–1268. doi:10.1351/pac198759101263.
15. Gragson, D. E.; Richmond, G. L. (1998-05-01). "Investigations of the Structure and Hydrogen Bonding of Water Molecules at Liquid Surfaces by Vibrational Sum Frequency Spectroscopy". The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. 102 (20): 3847–3861. doi:10.1021/jp9806011. ISSN 1520-6106.
16. "Optica Publishing Group". opg.optica.org. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
17. Wong, Eric (September 25, 1987). "Laser excitation spectroscopic studies of metal ion binding in polymers".
18. Ota, Stephanie T.; Richmond, Geraldine L. (2011-05-18). "Chilling Out: A Cool Aqueous Environment Promotes the Formation of Gas–Surface Complexes". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 133 (19): 7497–7508. Bibcode:2011JAChS.133.7497O. doi:10.1021/ja201027k. ISSN 0002-7863.
19. Lapp, Marshall (1987). Advances in laser science-II : proceedings of the Second International Laser Science Conference, Seattle, WA 1986. American Institute of Physics. ISBN 9780883183601.
20. Tran, Emma; Mapile, Ashley N.; Richmond, Geraldine L. (2021-10-01). "Peeling back the layers: Investigating the effects of polyelectrolyte layering on surface structure and stability of oil-in-water nanoemulsions". Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. 599: 706–716. Bibcode:2021JCIS..599..706T. doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2021.04.115. ISSN 0021-9797. OSTI 1977261. PMID 33984763.
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36. Leich, Megan A.; Richmond, Geraldine L. (2005-12-17). "Spiers Memorial Lecture". Faraday Discussions. 129: 1–21, discussion 89–109. doi:10.1039/B415753M. ISSN 1364-5498. PMID 15715295.
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49. "Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award" (PDF). Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
50. IIT Today (2017-05-13), 2017 Illinois Institute of Technology Commencement – Main Ceremony, retrieved 2017-06-29
51. Jackson, Kristina. "Richmond: We all bring different perspectives to a problem". The Mercury. Archived from the original on 2023-05-07. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
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53. Lemonick, Sam (March 19, 2018). "Meet Geraldine Richmond, 2018 Priestley Medalist". Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
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55. University, Carnegie Mellon. "Homepage – Dickson Prize in Science – Carnegie Mellon University". www.cmu.edu. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
56. "2021 History Makers Awards Ceremony". Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
57. "Science History Institute Presents 2023 Curious Histories Awards to Trailblazers Geraldine Richmond, David Jukes, and K. Barry Sharpless". Science History Institute. Retrieved 2024-10-30.

External links

• Prize Recipient Geraldine L. Richmond
• Richmond's Homepage
• COACh Homepage
• REU Webpage

• 1953 births
• Living people
• American physical chemists
• Kansas State University alumni
• National Medal of Science laureates
• University of California, Berkeley alumni
• University of Oregon faculty
• United States Department of Energy officials
• Biden administration personnel
• People from Salina, Kansas
• Scientists from Kansas
• 20th-century American chemists
• 20th-century American women scientists
• 21st-century American chemists
• 21st-century American women scientists
• Fellows of the American Physical Society