Julia Laskin of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has been picked as one of 10 women nationwide for a Rising Star Award by the Women Chemists Committee of the American Chemical Society.

The award, given to exceptional women chemists mid-career, is intended to help promote retention of women in science. Laskin will be honored at a symposium to highlight the work of winners during the American Chemical Society meeting in March in San Diego.

Laskin's research provides the basis for new analytical techniques to characterize synthetic and natural polymers, petroleum, biofuels and other complex samples in biology, environmental science, drug discovery and counter-terrorism. She studies gas-phase ion chemistry and mass spectrometry of large complex molecules.