Texas A&M Chemist Kim Dunbar Earns 2015 American Chemical Society Award
Distinguished Texas A&M Chemist Kim Renee Dunbar Earns 2015 (ACS) American Chemical Society Award for Excellence in Chemistry
Globally recognized Texas A&M chemist and distinguished professor of chemistry, Kim Renee Dunbar, and her colleague Dr. Vickie M. Williamson, instructional assistant professor of chemistry, were selected to receive 2015 ACS Awards for outstanding achievements in the field of chemistry. The announcement was first published in the August 2015 issue of Chemical & Engineering News. Kim Dunbar was selected to receive the ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry sponsored by Strem Chemicals Inc. In the article Kim Dunbar is recognized for “outstanding achievements in the field of coordination compounds as magnetic and conducting materials and for extraordinary service in inorganic chemistry.”
The 249th ACS National Meeting & Exposition was held in Denver, Colorado where Kim Dunbar was presented with a certificate and a $5,000 prize at the awards ceremony. The ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry was established in 1963 to recognize individuals who have advanced inorganic chemistry by significant service in addition to the performance of outstanding research.
Dr. David H. Russell, Applied Biosystems/MDS Sciex Professor of Mass Spectrometry in Chemistry and Head of the Department of Chemistry said, “The chemistry department is highly recognized both nationally and internationally for leadership in research and education, as evidenced by these awards,” followed by, “Professor Dunbar is a leader in her field of research, and Dr. Williamson is equally regarded in her field of chemical education and research, both of which underscore the seminal role the Department of Chemistry plays with respect to the Texas A&M University mission of research and teaching in service to Texas.”
When asked about receiving the award Kim Dunbar said, “I am honored to be selected to join the ranks of the esteemed inorganic chemists and particularly my Texas A&M colleagues who have received this award over the past five decades,” Dunbar said. “I share this achievement with the many students, postdocs, and collaborators who have generously shared their ideas, passion, and insight with me. The award is not only for me but for all of them as well.”
Kim Renee Dunbar joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry of Texas A&M in 1999 after serving on the faculty at Michigan State University for 12 years where she was named a University Distinguished Professor in 2006. In 2015, Dunbar received the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry, the second female recipient of the ACS’s top award for inorganic chemistry in its 52-year history and has served as an Associate editor of the ACS inorganic Chemistry journal for many years. A leader in both chemical research and education, Kim Renee Dunbar is the first female Texas A&M Former Students’ Network (WFSN) Eminent Scholar Award winner. In 2012, Dunbar was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from her undergraduate alma mater at Westminster College in New Wilmington in 2012. Prior to that, in 2004, Texas A&M named Kim Renee Dunbar the first Davidson Professor of Science and joint holder of the Davidson Chair in Science, meriting particular distinction as the first female chair holder in the College of Science.