Dr. Marinda P. Wu (PhD, '76, Drago) received the 2022 Shirley Radding Service Award on July 16, 2022, at the Silicon Valley American Chemical Society’s annual awards ceremony.
The Radding award was established in 1994 by the Silicon Valley Section of the ACS to recognize demonstrated, dedicated, unselfish leadership, service and significant contributions, over a sustained period of time, to industrial, academic, or applied chemistry and to the American Chemical Society at local, regional and national levels.
The award is named for Shirley B. Radding, who was a charter member and long-time supporter of the California Section. It currently consists of an engraved plaque and a check for $1000.
“When I received my honorarium of $1,000 as the 2022 Shirley Radding Award winner, I announced that I am donating my honorarium evenly between four great causes that I wish to support,” said Wu, who included the UIUC Department of Chemistry.
These causes are:
- Project SEED (Summer Experiences for Economically Disadvantaged students), a program at ACS founded over 50 years ago in Wu’s local California Section.
- ACS Scholars, a program offering scholarships for undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups in the chemical sciences.
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The Ohio State University where Wu received a BS cum laude with Distinction in Chemistry.
- And, the Department of Chemistry at UIUC where Wu earned a PhD in inorganic chemistry.
An Illinois Chemistry alum and former President of the ACS, Wu has more than 45 years of experience in the chemical industry including research for Dow Chemical R&D where she earned seven U.S. Patents in advanced batteries and membrane separations, and as a business leader for Dow Plastics Marketing. A strong advocate of STEM education, she founded “Science is Fun!” to interest young students in science and enhance public support for science education.
More about Wu and the award.