Dow Director, Jacqueline K. Barton, has been named as the recipient of the 2015 Priestley Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the American Chemical Society for her work on electron transport in DNA, her dedication to training young investigators, and her unwavering support for the chemistry enterprise.

The Arthur and Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor and chair of the division of chemistry and chemical engineering at California Institute of Technology, Barton's research examines the chemical and physical properties of DNA and the biological implications of those properties. She has pioneered the application of transition metal complexes to probe recognition and reactions of double helical DNA.

In a statement Wednesday, Dow Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew N. Liveris congratulated Dr. Barton on the honor.

"Dr. Barton's research and discoveries of DNA properties have earned her a place among some of the nation's most brilliant scientific minds," said Liveris. "She embodies the importance of imagination and innovation in her passion for science, and we are honored to have her as a member of our Board of Directors.  On behalf of the 53,000 women and men of Dow, we congratulate Dr. Barton on this outstanding recognition." 

One of Dow's longest-serving directors, Barton was elected to the Dow Board in 1993, and currently serves the Board as chair of the Environment, Health, Safety & Technology Committee.  She is also an Arthur and Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, where she is also the Division Chair of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Barton's career in science spans three decades and boasts various prestigious honors including: Willard Gibbs Award, American Chemical Society ("ACS") Breslow Award, ACS William H. Nichols Medal Award, Columbia University Medal of Excellence, ACS Garvan Medal, Mayor of New York's Award in Science and Technology, ACS Award in Pure Chemistry and the Alan T. Waterman Award of the National Science Foundation 1985. Barton was named MacArthur Foundation Fellow, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow, the American Philosophical Society Fellow, member of the National Academy of Sciences, Outstanding Director by the Outstanding Director Exchange (ODX) and 2013 Director of the Year Award from the Forum for Corporate Directors. In 2010, she received the National Medal of Science, one of the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists, engineers and inventors.

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