Ruth Ann Woodall received the 2013 American Chemical Society’s Helen M. Free Award.
Woodall, a Union University alumna who graduated in 1977, received the award Sept. 10 in Indianapolis, Ind. Along with the award, Woodall received $1,000.
The American Chemical Society’s Helen M. Free Award was established in 1995 by the American Chemical Society Committee on Public Relations and Communications.
The award is presented to a member of the society who has obtained achievement in the field of public outreach for their contributions in chemistry.
Woodall works at the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where her main job is to implement and sustain the Tennessee Scholars Program.
Woodall has been a member of the society for 21 years, where she has been a volunteer in Public Outreach.
She has given more than 10,000 hours of service and has promoted chemistry to people of all ages, in a variety of places.
Woodall has been featured on television and radio and in newspapers and has spoken to many people at a number of events. She also has written for the society’s “inChemistry” magazine.
“I would like to thank the staff of the Chemistry and Biology department for their support through my years of teaching and volunteering,” said Woodall. “A special thank you to Dr. Charles Baldwin and his wife, Janice, who served as my advisers while at Union and my career and personal cheerleader for the past 42 years.”