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Dr. Donna J. Nelson
Biographical Sketch

170 WORDS

Dr. Donna Nelson, associate professor of chemistry at Oklahoma University, obtained her PhD in chemistry at UT-Austin with MJS Dewar, did her postdoctorate at Purdue with HC Brown, and joined OU in 1983. 

She research areas are energy and scientific workforce development, and frequently speaks on their interrelationship.  She has over 90 publications and several honors, including Fulbright Scholar, NSF ADVANCE Leadership Award, SACNAS Distinguished Scientist, Women’s eNews “21 Leaders for the 21st Century”, AAAS Fellow, Guggenheim Award, NOW “Woman of Courage”, Ford Fellow, Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award, NSF Creativity Extension, and many keynote talks.

Her chemical research involves functionalizing single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), with applications in energy research and technology development, and yielded the first COSY NMR spectrum of covalently functionalized SWNTs. Her scientific workforce surveys, of faculty race/ethnicity, gender, and rank in science and engineering at research universities, revealed that women and minorities are much less represented among professors than degree recipients.  The Nelson Diversity Surveys final report is at http://cheminfo.chem.ou.edu/~djn/diversity/briefings/Diversity%20Report%20Final.pdf .

More information is at http://cheminfo.chem.ou.edu/faculty/djn/djn.html

 

350 WORDS

Dr. Donna Nelson, is an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma. She took her BS in chemistry at the University of Oklahoma in 1974, obtained her PhD in chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin with Michael J. S. Dewar in 1980, did her postdoctorate at Purdue University with Herbert C. Brown during 1980-1983, and joined the University of Oklahoma in 1983.  She was a Faculty Fellow in the OU Provost’s Office 1989–1990, a Visiting Professor at MIT 2003, and assistant to American Chemical Society President Dr. Ann Nalley since 2005.

Dr. Nelson’s current research pertains to energy and scientific workforce development – and she frequently speaks on the interrelationship of both topics.  She has over 90 publications.  She has received several honors, including Fulbright Scholar, NSF ADVANCE Leadership Award, SACNAS Distinguished Scientist of the Year, Women’s eNews “21 Leaders for the 21st Century”, AAAS Fellow, Guggenheim Award, National Organization for Women “Woman of Courage” Award, Ford Foundation Fellowship, Oklahoma Outstanding Professor Award, Minority Health Professions Foundation Hall of Fame Inductee, Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award, NSF Creativity Extension, and many keynote talks.  In the last 4 years, she has spoken at over 100 national meetings of professional societies and organizations, US Congress Capitol Hill briefings, teleconferences, universities, and radio and TV programs, such as McNeil-Lehrer News Hour. 

Her scientific workforce development research entailed surveys of faculty race/ethnicity, gender, and rank in “top 50” departments in each of 15 science and engineering disciplines.  Comparing her faculty data vs NSF PhD and BS attainment revealed that women and minorities are much less represented among professors than among degree recipients.  Her faculty data are complete populations, rather than samples, so they accurately reveal the small number or absence of underrepresented groups and compare across disciplines.  The Nelson Diversity Surveys final report is at http://cheminfo.chem.ou.edu/~djn/diversity/briefings/Diversity%20Report%20Final.pdf .

Her chemical research involves functionalizing single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), which has applications in energy research and technology development.  Recently her group reported the first COSY NMR spectrum of covalently functionalized SWNTs.

More information is available at http://cheminfo.chem.ou.edu/faculty/djn/djn.html

 

 

650 WORDS

Dr. Donna Nelson is an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma.  She took her B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Oklahoma in 1974. She obtained her Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Texas with Michael J. S. Dewar in 1980, did her postdoctorate at Purdue University with Herbert C. Brown during 1980 - 1983, and joined the University of Oklahoma in 1983.  She was a Faculty Fellow in the OU Provost’s Office 1989 - 1990, a Visiting Professor at MIT in 2003, and assistant to American Chemical Society President Dr. Ann Nalley since 2005. 

            Dr. Nelson’s current research pertains to energy and scientific workforce development – and she frequently speaks on the interrelationship of both topics.  She has over 90 publications.  The Journal of Organic Chemistry cover page (Feb. 4, 2005) and the Division of Organic Chemistry Calendar (Sep. 2006) both featured her chemical research.  Dr. Nelson has received several awards, including Fulbright Scholar (2007), NSF ADVANCE Leadership Award (2006), SACNAS Distinguished Scientist of the Year (2006), Women’s eNews 21 Leaders for the 21st Century (2006), AAAS Fellow (2005), Minority Health Professions Foundation Hall of Fame Inductee (2005), Oklahoma Outstanding Professor Award (2005), NOW Woman of Courage Award (2004), Ford Foundation Fellowship (2003), Guggenheim Award (2003), Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award (2001), NSF Creativity Extension (1989).  In the last 3 years, she has spoken at over 100 national meetings of professional societies and organizations, U.S. Congressional briefings, DC National Press Club briefings, teleconferences, universities, and radio and TV programs, such as the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour. 

            In physical organic chemistry, she developed a new synthetically useful technique for gathering mechanistic information on addition reactions of alkenes; this technique used pattern recognition and often permitted selection of one mechanism from several proposed ones.  The technique helped determine mechanisms of important addition reactions of alkenes, such as hydroboration, oxymercuration, bromination, Wacker reaction, and Wilkinson reaction.  She later applied this research to functionalizing single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), which has applications in energy research.  Recently her group reported the first COSY NMR spectrum of SWNTs which have covalently functionalized sidewalls and which are suspended in solution.

            Her scientific workforce development research entailed surveys (in FY2001 - FY2004, in FY2005, and in FY2007) of faculty race/ethnicity, gender, and rank of top 50 departments in each of 15 science and engineering disciplines (chemistry, physics, math, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, political science, sociology, economics, biological sciences, and psychology).  Comparing her faculty data vs Ph.D. and B.S. attainment revealed that generally, representation of females and underrepresented minorities on faculties is much less than in degree attainment.  Her faculty data are complete populations, rather than samples, so they accurately reveal the small number or absence of underrepresented groups.  They were obtained simultaneously and by a consistent protocol and are therefore comparable across a large number of disciplines.  The GAO report using her data is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04639.pdf .  Her final reports are available at http://cheminfo.chem.ou.edu/faculty/djn/diversity/Faculty_Tables_FY07/FinalReport07.html .

            Her large organic chemistry classes were an opportunity to develop and evaluate learning devices for her students.  She also surveyed organic undergrads in order to determine factors which influenced them to major and persist in science.  The learning devices use a visual, rather than oral or written, presentation; two were adopted by publishers to accompany their major organic chemistry textbooks.  For information see http://cheminfo.chem.ou.edu/~djn/diversity/SACNAS_Keynote/SACNAS_Keynote.html .  Her research results and materials from a project, which was designed by Oklahoma high school students and which involved precipitate-forming reactions conducted in microgravity on board the STS-40, are the subject of a permanent educational exhibit demonstrating the scientific method, at the Oklahoma Air and Space Museum. 

            For more information, visit http://cheminfo.chem.ou.edu/faculty/djn/djn.html or email her at DJNelson@ou.edu .   Photos are at http://cheminfo.chem.ou.edu/faculty/djn/biosketch.html .