Zaida Morales-Martínez is an American chemist and professor. She is currently professor emeritus of chemistry at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

Early life and education

Zaida Morales-Martínez was born in

Naranjito, Puerto Rico Naranjito (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central region of the island, south of Toa Alta; north of Barranquitas and Comerío; east of Corozal; and west of Bayamón. Naranjito is spread over 7 barrios and Naran ...

, as the oldest of three children. Her mother was a schoolteacher. She attended a

Catholic high school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

. She graduated from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

in 1957 with a

bachelor of science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in chemistry. In 1962, she graduated from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

with a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

Career

Morales-Martínez was an assistant professor at University of Puerto Rico from 1962 until 1967, and an instructor at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

from 1967 until 1973. Afterwards, she joined the faculty of

. She became professor emeritus of chemistry at FIU in 2003. In 2002, Morales-Martínez received the Women Chemists Committee Regional Award for Contributions to Diversity from the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

(ACS). In 2018, she received a

Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring The Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) is a Presidential award established by the United States White House in 1995. The program is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on ...

. She was named a fellow of the ACS in 2020. The Zaida C. Morales Martinez Prize for Outstanding Mentoring of ACS Scholars was established through a donation from

The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is a New York City-based foundation founded in 1946 by chemist and investor Camille Dreyfus in honour of his brother, Henry Dreyfus. The two men invented the acetate yarn Celanese, and Henry Dreyfus was ...

, and is awarded to exceptional members of the American Chemical Society's mentorship program.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morales-Martínez, Zaida American women chemists Florida International University faculty Fellows of the American Chemical Society University of Puerto Rico alumni University of Puerto Rico faculty Pennsylvania State University alumni People from Naranjito, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican women scientists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people