Professor Veronica Vaida ‘77 PhD, University of Colorado, Boulder, will be our guest speaker for the Physical Chemistry Seminar scheduled for Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at 4:00 p.m.
Location: Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, Room 160
Watch via livestream here.
Professor Vaida, Chemistry alumna, class of 1977, has been awarded the 2020 Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. A distinguished physical chemist, her scholarship linking molecular spectroscopy to atmospheric science has left a mark in the areas of environment and public health.
Through groundbreaking research, Vaida has unmasked sunlight-mediated processes in planetary atmospheres, opening a Pandora’s box of complex reactions that occur at the air-water interface. Her insights are especially important in understanding how airborne particles affect air quality, climate, and, consequently, health. She has demonstrated the surprisingly important role of vibrational photochemistry in the transformation of atmospherically important molecules.
The paradigms for photophysics she studies have far-reaching implications, including big questions like the physical and chemical processes at play in the origin of life. In addition, her findings influenced studies on ozone pollutants and climate change. Her profound influence on the science community is evidenced by your many prestigious honors, including her election to the National Academy of Sciences.
Beyond Vaida’s scientific achievements, she is a passionate advocate at the national level, organizing symposia, delivering lectures, and advising U.S. science policy. A true leader, she served as Chair of the University of Colorado’s Chemistry Department, and she mentors women in the physical sciences, a discipline that remains dramatically underrepresented. Notably, she was the first woman to be appointed assistant professor of chemistry at Harvard.
In recognition of her extraordinary achievements in scholarship, chemistry education, and national service, the Yale Graduate School Alumni Association proudly awards her its highest honor, the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal.