Chemistry professor to receive Israel Award

In recognition of his efforts to promote diversity, chemistry professor Daniel Rabinovich will be recognized this week by the American Chemistry Society’s Committee on Minority Affairs.

Rabinovich will receive the Stanley C. Israel Award during the 2013 Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemistry Society in Atlanta. Award recipients receive a medal and a $1,000 grant to support and further their diversity efforts. The honor “recognizes individuals and/or institutions that have advanced diversity in the chemical sciences and significantly stimulated or fostered activities that promote inclusiveness within the region,” according to the society.

“Dr. Rabinovich certainly fits this description,” said colleague and friend Gregory Grant. “He has engaged Hispanic and African-American students in his research in chemistry at UNC Charlotte.”

Grant, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, nominated Rabinovich for the award. “His ability to bridge two cultures and speak two languages makes him a natural role model for minority students,” he said.

Rabinovich, who grew up in Peru, is a U.S. citizen; he speaks Spanish and English fluently.

Alison Fout, a former graduate student of Rabinovich who is an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said that he had influenced her and other students. “Professor Dan Rabinovich is an exceptional mentor and someone I hope to emulate within my own research group,” said Fout.

Rabinovich mentors high school students through the American Chemical Society’s Project SEED, a summer program focused on underrepresented minority students. Lizeth Hernandez, one of Rabinovich’s former Project SEED students, is a senior chemistry student at UNC Charlotte. She worked in Rabinovich’s lab as a high school student and credits Rabinovich’s guidance in her decision to pursue graduate school and make chemistry her career.

“Without open-mindedness, students are unlikely to participate and everyone loses with that,” said Rabinovich. “That’s why diversity is a way of promoting participation and integration, and that’s the key to success.”

Photo: Rabinovich and Lizeth Hernandez working in the lab.