Malika Jeffries-EL to Present Helen Murray Free Lecture Jan. 26

WOOSTER, Ohio – Malika Jeffries-EL, associate dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and associate professor of chemistry and materials science and engineering at Boston University, will make a pair of presentations as the speaker of the Helen Murray Free Lecture at The College of Wooster on Tuesday, Jan. 26, virtually via Microsoft Teams.
The first lecture, “Design synthesis of organic electronic materials,” will begin at 11:30 a.m. Jeffries-EL will discuss work on the synthesis and properties of semiconducting materials that drive technology and the energy needed to power them.  Join here.
The second lecture starts at 7:30 p.m. and is titled “Taking the road less traveled: My journey to the Ivory Tower.” She will discuss what excites her about science along with current trends, pipeline issues, and potential solutions woven within the content of her personal experiences. Join here.

Jeffries-EL’s research focuses on the development of organic semiconductors—materials that combine the processing properties of polymers with the electronic properties of semiconductors. She has authored over 40 publications, received over 3,700 citations and given over 100 lectures domestically and abroad. She has won numerous awards including the 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award (2008), the Lloyd Ferguson Award from the National Organization of Black Chemist and Chemical Engineers (2009), NSF CAREER award (2009), the ACS-Women Chemist Committee Rising Star award (2012) the Iota Sigma Pi Agnes Fay Morgan Award (2013) and ACS Fellow (2018). She is currently an associate editor for the Journal of Materials Chemistry C. She has also served on the editorial advisory boards for Macromolecules and Chemical and Engineering News. Jeffries-EL is a staunch advocate for diversity and dedicated volunteer that has served in several activities within the AMC including the advisory board for Women Chemist of Color Initiative and the Women Chemist Committee.
Jeffries-EL earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and Africana Studies at Wellesley College and M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from The George Washington University.
Helen Murray Free graduated from Wooster in 1945 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Her research in clinical chemistry revolutionized diagnostic testing, particularly the “dip-and-read” glucose tests for diabetics, and she was awarded seven patents for her clinical diagnostic test inventions. From 1987 to 1992, she chaired the ACS’s National Chemistry Week Task Force, and in 1993, she served as president of the ACS. She and her husband, Alfred, were inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame in 2000, and in 2010, the ACS designated the development of diagnostic test strips as a National Historic Chemical Landmark. That same year, she was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Obama.
Additional information about the lectures is available by phone (330-263-2418) or mcornelious@wooster.edu.