Camille Rubel, a graduate student in the Engle Lab, has been honored with the American Chemical Society (ACS) Women Chemists Committee/Merck Research Award and the ACS Kenneth G. Hancock Memorial Award for 2024. Rubel is being recognized both for her work advancing sustainable chemistry and engineering, as well as broadening access to STEM education in diverse communities throughout San Diego County.

The ACS Merck Research Award, which promotes diversity in chemistry and career advancement opportunities for female chemists, recognizes eight individuals who will present their research at the Women Chemists Committee/Merck half-day symposium during the ACS Fall Meeting in Denver, CO.

The ACS Kenneth G. Hancock Memorial Award honors outstanding student accomplishments that further green chemistry and engineering through their research, including fundamental and innovative technologies using green chemistry. Rubel presented her work earlier this summer at the Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference in Atlanta, GA.

Rubel is currently a PhD candidate at Scripps Research in the lab of Keary Engle, PhD, a professor in the Department of Chemistry. She is a synthetic organic chemist who focuses on metal-catalyzed reactions. During her doctoral studies, she has developed nickel catalysts with enhanced stability, reactivity, and selectivity to improve the efficiency of carbon–carbon bond-forming reactions. Her research is helping reduce the environmental burden of precious metal use, as well as decreasing hazardous chemical use. While the ACS awards recognize Rubel’s work in sustainable synthesis through these innovations in nickel catalysis, they also highlight her dedication to volunteering and collaborating with Barrio Logan College Institute on STEM-related initiatives.