Jun receives Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering award
Young-Shin Jun also has been appointed chair of the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Science
Young-Shin Jun, professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has been chosen to receive a 2025 Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering award from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).
The awards program, initiated as part of the 2011 International Year of Chemistry celebrations, acknowledges and promotes the work of women chemists and chemical engineers worldwide. Awardees are chosen based on excellence in basic or applied research, distinguished accomplishments in teaching or education, or demonstrated leadership or managerial excellence in the chemical sciences. Of particular interest are nominees with a history of leadership and/or community service during their careers.
Jun will receive her award during the IUPAC World Chemistry Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July 2025.
“IUPAC is the largest chemistry professional organization in the world,” said Joshua Yuan, the Lucy & Stanley Lopata Professor and chair of the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering. “Winning this major award in IUPAC again manifested Young-Shin’s excellence and impact at a global stage.”
Jun also has been appointed chair of the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Committee on Science by the ACS president and board of directors. She leads efforts to champion frontier research in chemistry, formulate ACS policy statements and recognize outstanding chemists and chemical engineers. She served as chair of the Science & Technology Subcommittee from 2020-2024 and has been a member since 2017.
Jun’s Environmental NanoChemistry Laboratory advances the understanding of nanoscale interfacial chemistry and solid nucleation to tackle key challenges in energy and the environment. She currently focuses on three critical areas: CO2 chemical systems for clean energy; novel technologies to recover critical elements, nutrients and valuable salts from unconventional resources; and nanomaterials synthesis and nanotechnologies for improving the quality of water and soil. Her groundbreaking research significantly enhances the resilience of our society’s climate, water and energy.
Over her career, Jun has received numerous awards, including a 2008 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, a 2011 U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER award, the 2020 James M. Lee Memorial Award, the 2022 Jackson Award, and a 2022 Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors’ Distinguished Service Award. She was named a 2015 Kavli Fellow by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a 2016 Frontier of Engineering Fellow by the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a 2018 Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and a 2019 Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Jun is an editorial board member of ACS Environmental Science & Technology, RSC Advances, and Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering. She is an advisory board member of Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts.
Jun also has a long history of community service. She serves as Washington University’s McDonnell International Scholars Academy Ambassador to Seoul National University, South Korea. She is the inaugural faculty adviser for WashU’s student chapter of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), and was the first Faculty Fellow of the Institute for School Partnership for broader K-12 outreach efforts.
