Congrats to Prof. Claudia Turro, the recipient of the 2106 Edward W. Morley Medal sponsored by the Cleveland Section of the American Chemical Society! The Morley Medal is a prestigious honor that was established in 1965 and since 2002, four members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) have been recipients, Tobin Marks (2002), Rich Eisenberg (2007), Joseph Francisco (2011), and Malcolm Chisholm (2012).  The award was given in recognition of significant contributions to chemistry through achievements in research, teaching, and leadership. The area of eligibility includes those parts of the United States and Canada within about 250 miles of Cleveland.

 

Prof. Turro is a physical inorganic chemist, focusing her research in the areas of time-resolved spectroscopy and bioinorganic chemistry with applications in therapeutics, diagnostics, and solar energy conversion. She received her B.S. with Honors from Michigan State University in 1987 and went on to work with Daniel G. Nocera and George E. Leroi at Michigan State University, receiving her Ph.D. in 1992. She conducted postdoctoral research funded by the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship with Nicholas J. Turro until 1996, when she became a faculty member at The Ohio State University. She received the Early CAREER Award by the National Science Foundation in 1998, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Young Investigator Award in 1999, was named a 2010 Fellow of the American Chemical Society, and a 2011 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  She also was elected President of the Inter-American Photochemical Society (2012-14) and Chair of the Division of Inorganic Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (2016). In 2014, she received the College of Arts and Sciences inaugural Susan M. Hartmann Mentoring and Leadership Award and the Inter-American Photochemical Society Award in Photochemistry.  In addition to her research scholarship, Professor Turro has demonstrated a deep commitment to teaching and mentoring of students, placing special emphasis on underrepresented minority students.

 

The presentation of the award will take place on May 18, 2016 in the Michelson and Morley Restaurant on the Case Western Reserve Campus, at which time Prof. Turro will deliver the Edward W. Morley Lecture titled “Targeting Cancer with Transition Metal Complexes:  From Basic Science to Therapy."