The HVCC Chemistry Club recognizes Marsha I. Lester for Women’s History Month in 2025:
Marsha I. Lester, the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, has been a trailblazer in physical chemistry for over four decades. She has been studying the dynamics of chemical reactions and the properties of weakly bound complexes. Her extensive spectroscopy and photochemistry research of Criegee intermediates and the hydroxyl and hydroperoxyalkyl radicals have dramatically impacted the scientific community’s understanding of these species and have resulted in far-reaching implications for atmospheric and combustion chemistry.
Marsha’s research has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards and honors, including election as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Chemical Society, and the American Physical Society. She has also been honored with induction into the National Academy of Sciences, the nation’s highest scientific honor. Recently, the Physical Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society instituted the Marsha I. Lester Award for Exemplary Impact in Physical Chemistry.
Professor Lester has served as a mentor to numerous graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, instilling in them her unwavering practicality, meticulous preparation, and her contagious enthusiasm for research. Members of her group bond by celebrating anything from a successful thesis defense to a journal article acceptance, usually accompanied by a signed bottle of champagne. Personal events are marked with birthday cakes and desserts.
Marsha’s research and advocacy have inspired countless scientists and students, and her legacy will continue to shape the field of physical chemistry for years to come.
Once again, Chemistry Club co-advisor Dr. Elena Keesee was kind enough to curate this information.