An ISU chemistry professor was recently selected as one of the 12 leading American women chemists by the American Chemical Society.

Valerie Sheares, assistant professor of chemistry, was chosen for her achievements and contributions to chemistry, and her work will be profiled in the American Chemical Society journal, “Chemical and Engineering News.”

Sheares was chosen along with a select group of chemists, whom she said were very excellent and qualified women.

“I felt very honored. It’s a really good group of women, and I was pretty amazed to be named with them,” Sheares said.

Sheares said the award is an interesting one because it honors the top women in the field of chemistry.

“It means a lot because people outside the department would look at our work,” she said.

For the past six years, Sheares’ work in the field of chemistry has involved working with and developing high performance polymers. The polymers are used to make plastics and are used in aerospace, automotive or electronics applications.

“She has been extremely creative and innovative in her work,” said Patricia Thiel, chairwoman of the chemistry department.

She said Sheares is not only a capable chemist, but is also good at explaining her research to others.

“She has a tremendous combination of excellent scientific capability and excellent communication skills,” Thiel said. “She does beautiful work and is able to communicate to the outside world the excitement of her work.”

Sheares’ work will reach a much larger audience after it is published in the journal, which Sheares said should be out this fall.

Throughout 2002, the journal is featuring the work of the 12 women being honored. The features are a part of the 75th anniversary of the American Chemical Society’s Women Chemists Committee.

Sheares came to Iowa State in 1996, and before that she held positions as a Kodak Corporate Research Fellow, National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, and a NATO/NSF Postdoctoral Fellow.

Among other awards, Sheares is one of four Liberal Arts and Sciences Master Teachers for 2001-2002, she was named the Veishea 2001 Faculty of the Year in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and she was also selected as last year’s Teacher of the Year by the undergraduates in the chemical engineering department.