| Mary Virginia Orna | |
| Birth Date: | [1] |
| Birth Place: | New Jersey |
| Nationality: | American |
| Field: | History of science |
| Known For: | Chemistry of color, archeology of chemistry |
| Work Institutions: | College of New Rochelle |
| Alma Mater: | Chestnut Hill College, Fordham University, Catholic University of America |
| Doctoral Advisor: | Michael Cefola |
| Awards: | HIST Award, 2021 |
Mary Virginia Orna (born 1934, in New Jersey) is an American color chemist, historian of science, and professor emerita of the College of New Rochelle.[1] Orna will receive the 2021 HIST Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry from the American Chemical Society's Division of the History of Chemistry “for her exemplary leadership in the worldwide community of the history of chemistry, especially for her original research in the area of color and pigment chemistry and the discovery of the elements, her commitment to education, her decades of service to the Division of History of Chemistry, and her continuing role in supporting and participating in the worldwide research in the archeology of chemistry.”[2]
Orna received a B.S. in chemistry at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1955. She studied Analytical Chemistry at Fordham University in New York City with Michael Cefola, receiving her Ph.D. in 1962. She studied for her profession with the Ursulines at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and completed her M.A. in Religious Education in 1967.[1]
In 1966 Orna joined the faculty of the College of New Rochelle in New York, a Roman Catholic college for women. She spent her career at the college, chaired its Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics,[3] and is now a professor of Chemistry Emerita.[1] She has focused on education and chemistry through her teaching at the college, working internationally during sabbaticals in Israel and Rome, and through the creation of an educational spin-off from the NSF, ChemSource. She has studied the chemistry of color and its historical use.[4]
Orna has been a member of the Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society since 1976, chair of the ACS Division of the History of Chemistry, chair of the executive committee in 1984 and Treasurer from 1989 to 1990,[1] and chair of the Division of Chemical Education, in addition to serving on many ACS committees. She was Director of Educational Services at Philadelphia's Science History Institute (1997-2000) and editor of its magazine. Orna helped to found the Edelstein Center for the Analysis of Middle Eastern Textiles and Artifacts[1] at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, in Ramat-Gan, Israel, and was an original member of its Steering Committee.[5]
Among her publications are the following books and symposia:[1] [6]
Awards that she has received include:[1]