University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) alumna Diana Aga has been named a 2022 fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Aga, the director of the University at Buffalo (UB) RENEW Institute and Professor of Chemistry in the UB College of Arts and Sciences in New York, was announced among the 45 scientists honored for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the profession.
The Filipino-American chemist was recognized for her work in environmental and analytical chemistry, as well as her efforts to encourage women and underrepresented minority students to pursue careers in science.
Aga was also honored for her contributions to AGRO, a division of the American Chemical Society where she organized student research, learning and networking activities, according to the University at Buffalo report.
The UB announcement released on August 8, 2022, said that Aga’s career was inspired by the changes she witnessed near the village where she grew up in the Philippines. She recalled swimming, playing, and fishing in a river near her home and noticing that the river gradually became darkened with pollution over time.
Aga currently heads the UB RENEW Institute, a university-wide multidisciplinary research institute focused on complex energy and environmental issues, and also continues to lead a lab in UB’s chemistry department that analyzes pollutants in the environment and develops ways to break them down and clean them up, among others.
The discoveries of Aga’s team have led to breakthroughs and far-reaching impact on understanding “emerging contaminants such as antimicrobials and other pharmaceuticals; endocrine-disrupting chemicals; and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs).”
The 2022 ACS fellow joined UB faculty after obtaining her Ph.D. in Analytical and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Kansas and a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Chemistry from the University of the Philippines Los Banos.
Aga has won various prestigious awards and honors, including the ACS Schoellkopf Medal, the AGRO Fellow Award from the ACS AGRO division, and the Koh Lectureship Award in Science from the Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering, among many others.
The American Chemical Society is recognized as a leading publisher of authoritative scientific information. The ACS fellowship began in 2009 to recognize members for outstanding achievements and contributions to science, the profession, and the organization.
Filipino scientists from the University of the Philippines were honored in Encyclopedia Britannica’s 20 Under 40 list of Young Shapers of the Future who are making their mark on history.
Eight Philippine university scientists were named to the Asian Scientist 100 in 2021.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) alumna Diana Aga for being named a 2022 fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS)!
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