Dr. Marsha I. Lester

Class of 2024-25

Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
Department of Chemistry
School of Arts and Sciences
University of Pennsylvania

Marsha I. Lester had conducted groundbreaking research utilizing innovative methods to study complex chemical reactions involving open-shell complexes and reaction intermediates.

Her work has advanced the understanding of chemical pathways that involve hydroxyl radicals, which are key initiators of oxidation chemistry in the atmosphere. Her laboratory has developed novel spectroscopic techniques to investigate uncharted regions of chemical reaction pathways, providing valuable insights into the oxidation processes in the atmosphere.

Lester is renowned for her pioneering work on Criegee intermediates – crucial species in atmospheric chemistry – that her laboratory characterized by their very strong UV absorption as a distinctive spectral signature. Her research continues to explore the fundamental mechanisms of atmospheric reactions, particularly those involving volatile organic compounds like isoprene.

She received her Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University.

She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society.

Honors include the Herbert P. Broida Prize of the American Physical Society and the establishment of the Marsha I. Lester Award for Exemplary Impact in Physical Chemistry by the Physical Chemistry Section of American Chemical Society.

She has published 181 peerreviewed articles and served as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Chemical Physics.

Lester will collaborate with faculty and students in the College of Arts and Sciences.