For demonstrating exceptional leadership on campus, chemistry senior Elizabeth Murphy has been awarded the Patricia E. Askew Leadership Award for 2020.
An undergraduate research assistant in Professor Paul Braun's group at the Beckman Institute, Murphy worked on the synthesis of a redox-active polymer brush as an undergraduate researcher, but in addition to her studies and research, she has been involved in the American Chemical Society student chapter on campus and most recently has been president of that organization.
The Patricia E. Askew award is presented to one undergraduate student each year who has shown leadership on campus and been instrumental in creating or enhancing a registered student organization. Askew came to the University in 1988 and served as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1994 until her retirement in August 2005. Among her other passions, she was recognized for her commitment in addressing alcohol, other drug, and traffic safety problem prevention efforts. A strong champion of student leadership development, Askew spearheaded the development of Illinois Leadership™, a multi-faceted leadership development program.
Murphy will be pursuing her PhD in polymeric materials chemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and after her doctorate, hopes to pursue a research and development polymer chemist position at a chemical manufacturing company.