Mary Rakowski DuBois explained

Mary Rakowski DuBois
Birth Name:	Mary Clare Rakowski
Workplaces:	Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (2007-2011) University of Colorado at Boulder (1976-2007) Cornell University (1974-1976)
Alma Mater:	Creighton University Ohio State University
Thesis Title:	Complexes with macrocyclic ligands: I. The oxydation reduction behavior of iron complexes. II. Synthesis and characterization of transition metal containing a pentadentate ligand
Thesis Url:	https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/973332814
Thesis Year:	1974
Doctoral Advisor:	Daryle H. Busch
Academic Advisors:	Earl Muetterties
Spouse:	Daniel L. DuBois

Mary Rakowski DuBois is an inorganic chemist, now retired from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). She made multiple contributions to inorganic and organometallic chemistry, focusing on synthetic and mechanistic studies. In recognition of her scientific contributions, she received several awards.

Education and career

Rakowski DuBois conducted her undergraduate training at Creighton University, receiving her B.S. in 1970. She earned her Ph.D. in 1974 under the mentorship of Daryle H. Busch at Ohio State University,^[1] and then was a postdoctoral fellow with Earl Muetterties at Cornell University.

She joined the faculty of the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1976, and was a professor there until 2007, where she moved to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).^[2] She retired from PNNL in 2011.^[3]

Research

Together with her husband Daniel L. DuBois, Rakowski DuBois led a team that elucidated the reactivity of nickel complexes of P2N2 ligands, which were popularized at PNNL. The behavior of these complexes highlighted the strong influence of the second coordination sphere on the rates of activation of H₂ by 16-electron nickel complexes.^[4] Early in her independent career, while on the faculty at the University of Colorado, she discovered that organomolybdenum sulfides activated hydrogen. This work provided a mechanistic connection between the Mo-S catalysts used in hydrodesulfurization and molecular organometallic chemistry.^[5]

Awards

Rakowski DuBois has been honored with fellowships from Alfred P. Sloan (1981), Dreyfus (1981), and Guggenheim Foundations (1984).^{[5] [6]}

References

1. Rakowski. Mary Clare. Complexes with macrocyclic ligands: I. The oxydation reduction behavior of iron complexes. II. Synthesis and characterization of transition metal containing a pentadentate ligand. 1974. The Ohio State University . English. 973332814.
2. Rakowski Dubois. M.. Dubois. Daniel L.. 2009-12-21. Development of Molecular Electrocatalysts for CO2 Reduction and H2 Production/Oxidation. Accounts of Chemical Research. 42. 12. 1974–1982. 10.1021/ar900110c. 19645445 . 0001-4842.
3. Web site: PNNL: Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis - Research: Reaching Out to the Next Generation of Scientist - Salmon Summit. 2021-06-08. efrc.pnnl.gov.
4. Rakowski DuBois, M. . D. L. DuBois . 2009. The Roles of the First And Second Coordination Spheres in the Design of Molecular Catalysts for H₂ Production and Oxidation. Chem. Soc. Rev.. 38. 1. 62–72. 10.1039/b801197b. 19088965.
5. Rakowski DuBois, M.. 1989. Catalytic Applications of Transition-Metal Complexes with Sulfide Ligands. Chemical Reviews . 89. 1–9. 10.1021/cr00091a001.
6. Web site: John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Mary Rakowski DuBois. 2021-06-08. en-US.