2013 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science honors materials researchers
Each year, five outstanding women scientists—one per continent—are honored for the contributions of their research, the strength of their commitments, and their impact on society. This year, the research of the 2013 Laureates demonstrates exceptionally original approaches to fundamental research in the physical sciences with a notable relation to materials research. The award recipients include Marcia Barbosa of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre (Brazil) for “discovering one of the peculiarities of water which may lead to better understanding of how earthquakes occur and how proteins fold which is important for the treatment of diseases.” Water can behave in unusual and unexpected ways, and pinpointing exactly how water acts, and why, when it does the unexpected is key to advancing knowledge in nearly every field of science.
Pratibha Gai of the University of York (United Kingdom) received the award for “ingeniously modifying her electron microscope so that she was able to observe chemical reactions occurring at surface atoms of catalysts which will help scientists in their development of new medicines or new energy sources.” Her modification and development of the atomic resolution-environmental transmission electron microscope enable scientists to actually see chemical processes at the atomic level that were once completely mysterious.
Deborah Jin of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and University of Colorado, Boulder (USA) is recognized for “having been the first to cool down molecules so much that she can observe chemical reactions in slow motion which may help further understanding of molecular processes which are important for medicine or new energy sources.” The study of ultracold molecules could lead to new precision-measurement tools, new methods for quantum computing, and increase scientific understanding of materials that are essential to technology.
Reiko Kuroda of Tokyo University of Science (Japan) was recognized for “discovering the functional importance of the difference between left handed and right handed molecules which has wide applications including research on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.” Her basic research at the molecular level, whether biological or non-biological, has important implications for manufacturing drugs and agricultural chemicals, as well as for the study of gene-determining animal body asymmetry, such as snail coiling.
