Dr. Judith Burstyn (Ph.D. ’86, Valentine group), a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UCLA alumna, has been appointed to lead the Division of Chemistry (CHE) of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).

Burstyn received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from UCLA in 1986, working with Professor Joan Valentine.  She conducted her post-doctoral training at the UCLA School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with Professor Stephen Lippard. She joined the University of Wisconsin–Madison chemistry faculty in 1990.

“This is great news,” said Professor Joan Valentine. “Judith is a superb scientist and a strong supporter of women in science.”

From the National Science Foundation announcement:

Dr. Judith Burstyn will join CHE as its division director in January 2025. Judith comes to NSF from her position as a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Chemistry. From 2017 to 2021, she was the Irving Shain Chair in Chemistry and the department chair. She is an accomplished researcher in the field of biological inorganic chemistry and a prolific supervisor of 30 doctoral students. Dr. Burstyn has been recognized with several awards and fellowships, including selection as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and as an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow. She has served in several roles in service to the chemistry community, including as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the American Chemical Society Journal Inorganic Chemistry and as chair of the Gordon Research Conference on the Chemistry and Biology of Tetrapyrroles. She has played an active role in promoting women in chemistry and STEM in general.

 

Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.