VCU professor receives national award for distinguished service in the advancement of analytical chemistry

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley

RICHMOND, Va. – Dr. Fred M. Hawkridge, professor and chair of the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Chemistry, is the recipient of the prestigious American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Analytical Chemistry.

The award – presented this week at the ACS 2003 National Meeting in New York – is given annually to an individual who has substantially and uniquely enhanced the field of analytical chemistry through professional service in activities such as teaching, writing, research and administration. 

In a letter to Dr. Hawkridge announcing the award, the Chair of the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry, J. David Pinkston, said, "Your nomination was especially strong, noting your extraordinary contributions as an officer of the Division, a program officer at the National Science Foundation, a mentor to young analytical faculty members, an editor of influential journals in our field, a devoted educator, and last but not least, a research leader opening new and important horizons in the analytical sciences."

Dr. Hawkridge teaches undergraduate classes and graduate courses.  His research, currently supported by the National Science Foundation, is focused in the area of protein and enzyme electron transfer and ligand binding reactions – allowing the study of the three major life processes, respiration, photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation, directly using electrochemistry.  Dr. Hawkridge has published more than 70 scientific papers and given numerous invited and contributed talks.

However, it is his role as a mentor that is most gratifying to Dr. Hawkridge.  "What means most is seeing good students get out there and get good jobs – build reputations for themselves, their universities and their companies," Hawkridge said.

A colleague of 17 years who considers Dr. Hawkridge a mentor, and who nominated him for the award, said Dr. Hawkridge works tirelessly at VCU. "He has passed on to generations of students not only his rigorous standards of scholarship, but also, and even more important, his uncompromising commitment to excellence," said Dr. Sarah Rutan, VCU professor of analytical chemistry.  "His students keep in touch with him, and their professional careers attest to Dr. Hawkridge's positive impact on their lives."

In 2002, Dr. Hawkridge received the A. Benedetti-Pichler Award from the American Microchemical Society for outstanding contributions to the field of microchemistry.  He received an honorary Ph.D. from St. Petersburg University, St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1993.  Dr. Hawkridge received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Kentucky.  After postdoctoral work at Case Western Reserve University and Ohio State University, he joined the chemistry faculty at the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Hawkridge has been a professor of analytical chemistry since he came to VCU in 1976.  He became chair of the Department of Chemistry in 1998.