Professor Cynthia Friend, Theodore William Richards Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science, has been selected as the 2022 recipient of the F.A. Cotton Medal for Excellence in Chemical Research named for one of the most honored faculty members in Texas A&M University history.
The medal is jointly awarded each year by the Texas A&M Department of Chemistry and the Texas A&M Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in tribute to Dr. Albert Cotton, a Texas A&M distinguished professor of chemistry widely considered one of the world’s foremost inorganic chemists who passed away on February 20, 2007. He was the inaugural recipient of the medal when it was first awarded in 1995.
“It is fantastic to see Cyndy recognized with the Cotton Medal for her work in surface chemistry and catalysis,” said Dr. James D. Batteas, Regents Professor of Chemistry and D. Wayne Goodman Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M. “Al Cotton was always a huge supporter of physical chemistry, and as one of the foremost surface scientists in the world, Cyndy is so deserving of this award. Having been a postdoctoral fellow with her, I can attest that she is not only an exceptional scientist, but also a wonderful teacher and mentor.”
Cotton came to Texas A&M as the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University in 1972 from MIT, where at age 31 in 1961, he had become the youngest MIT faculty member to attain the rank of full professor. His pioneering 35-year career at Texas A&M revolutionized several fields of chemistry, including inorganic chemistry, protein chemistry, structural chemistry and chemical bonding. Cotton was the originator of and leading authority in the field of compounds containing single and multiple bonds between metal atoms. His other principal contributions dealt with protein structure, spectroscopic studies of metal carbonyls, and the dynamic behavior of fluxional organometallic and metal carbonyl compounds.
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