Leveraging and sharing knowledge has always been a continuous process! The afternoon of Monday July 16, 2018 provided an opportunity for the RAN team to host the Women in Science and Innovation team (40 participants), as a partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Uganda. This was one of the activities the Embassy arranged when they hosted Prof. Geraldine (Geri) Richmond in Uganda. Participants were from across several disciplines including; Computer Science, Public Health, Engineering, Lab Technology, Pediatrics, Innovation, Education, Communication among others. The ladies engaged in a roundtable discussion (2:00 pm to 4:00 pm EAT) led by Professor Richmond and discussions were guided by the Topic: “Women in Leadership Roles in Science and Innovation”. This engagement was largely aimed at enabling the participants to share and learn more from one another but also gain additional motivation to continue with their efforts supporting science and innovation by listening to and interacting with Prof. Richmond and other participants. Prof. Geraldine Lee Richmond is an American chemist and physical chemist. Richmond is the Presidential Chair in Science and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oregon http://richmondscience.uoregon.edu/. ‘I implore all of you to always speak out in all your endeavors so that the women’s voice can be continuously heard’ noted Prof. Richmond. Participants also used this opportunity to share experiences for enhanced learning, development and growth. Prof. Richmond imparted into the engagement attendees personal and business building skills largely leveraging from her experience, expertise and educational background.
Professor Geraldine (Geri) Richmond is a member of the National Science Board and the Presidential Chair in Science and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oregon where she has been since 1985. A native of Kansas, she is a member of the National Academy of Science, and has received awards for her scientific accomplishments including the National Medal of Science, Olin-Garvan Medal, the ACS Joel H. Hildebrand Award, the American Physical Society (APS) Davisson-Germer Prize in Surface Physics and the 2018 ACS Priestley Medal. She is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Association for Women in Science (AWIS), and the Society of Applied Spectroscopists (SAS). Her educational efforts have focused largely on introductory chemistry and science literacy courses as well as being the director of several University of Oregon undergraduate research programs. Her research examines the chemistry and physics that occurs at complex surfaces that have relevance to important problems in energy production, environmental remediation and atmospheric chemistry. Using a combination of laser-based methods and theoretical simulations, her most recent efforts have focused on understanding environmentally important processes at water surfaces. Over 200 publications have resulted from the studies conducted in her laboratory with undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral associates.
