(Long Island, NY) Donna J. Nelson, Ph.D., professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma and president-elect of the American Chemical Society to deliver the lecture titled “America’s Scientific Readiness: Challenges and How We Can Meet Them” at Adelphi University on Monday, September 28, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. in the Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom of the Ruth S. Harley University Center. The free event, sponsored by the Jerry March Memorial Lecture, is open to the public.
Dr. Nelson’s work concerns our national ability to respond to the scientific needs that arise with social, economic or national security issues. She examines our preparedness from a perspective of science education. She and her students routinely review chemistry textbooks to ensure that they are in line with current practice and literature. She has also surveyed the tenured and tenure-track science and engineering departments at a variety of universities to look for racial and gender representation among faculty members.
Donna J. Nelson, Ph.D. Photo Credit: Adelphi University.
Her credits also include serving as a scientific adviser for the TV series Breaking Bad and visiting the set of the program The Big Bang Theory. In 2011, she organized the “Hollywood Chemistry” symposium to build connections between the scientific and entertainment communities. Creating links between the ivory tower and the mass media of film and television to ensure a better depiction of scientific practice in popular entertainment is just one part of her readiness program.
The Jerry March Memorial Lecture is an endowed lectureship established by the March family to honor the memory of Jerry March, Ph.D., who served Adelphi as a professor of chemistry for more than 40 years. His contributions to education are numerous and include authoring the reference “Advanced Organic Chemistry: Reactions, Mechanisms, and Structure,” which remains a staple text in graduate-level organic chemistry. For the last decade of his life, Dr. March volunteered his time reading books for Recordings for the Blind.
For more information about this and other events on campus, please visit adelphi.edu, or call the Cultural Events Hotline at (516) 877-4555.
About Adelphi University
New York’s Adelphi University is a nationally ranked, doctoral research university where students succeed by gaining the skills, knowledge and exposure to thrive as professionals and active citizens in an interconnected and fast-paced global society. Today, nearly 8,000 students from 38 states and 46 countries pursue degrees in person and online through Adelphi’s eight distinguished schools and programs—the College of Arts and Sciences, the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, the Honors College, the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, the College of Nursing and Public Health and the School of Social Work. Chartered in 1896, Adelphi is known for offering a personalized education—one is which students are mentored by talented and committed faculty members and readily find opportunities to initiate, innovate, explore and understand. With dynamic learning hubs on Long Island, in Manhattan and in the Hudson Valley, Adelphi serves communities, both regionally and globally, through the research and practice of its faculty, the collaborative initiatives undertaken by its centers and programs, the staging of distinguished cultural events and, most essentially, the education of future leaders and informed citizens.
