chemistry

Janet G. Osteryoung

Janet G. Osteryoung is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Janet G. Osteryoung rather than just read about it. In short: Janet Gretchen Osteryoung (March 1, 1939 – September 21, 2021) was an American chemist who was the director of the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation from 1994 to 2001. Her research furthered the development of electroanalysis and especially that of square wave voltammetry.

Key takeaways

Janet G. Osteryoung belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of Janet G. Osteryoung from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Janet Gretchen Osteryoung (March 1, 1939 – September 21, 2021) was an American chemist who was the director of the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation from 1994 to 2001. Her research furthered the development of electroanalysis and especially that of square wave voltammetry. She was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1984 and awarded the Garvan–Olin Medal in 1987.

Early life and education Janet Gretchen Jones was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Vero Beach, Florida. She was an undergraduate student at Swarthmore College, where she was a Merit scholar. Jones was a graduate student at California Institute of Technology, where she worked alongside Fred Anson on ligand bridging in charge transfer reactions. Robert Osteryoung was a Visiting Associate in the Department of Chemistry at Caltech at this same time. After marrying, Janet and Robert Osteryoung both continued to carry out research in the field of electroanalytical chemistry.

Research and career Osteryoung was appointed to the faculty at Montana State University in 1967. She moved to Colorado State University a year later, where she worked in the Departments of Civil Engineering and Microbiology. In 1977, Osteryoung moved to the National Science Foundation, where she was the program director for chemical analysis. Osteryoung was made associate professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1979 and professor in 1982. In 1985 Osteryoung was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and spent a year at the University of Southampton, where she investigated the fundamentals of solid electrodes. Osteryoung moved to North Carolina State University in 1992, where she served as head of department for two years. In 1994, she returned to the National Science Foundation, where she was made director of the division of chemistry. She was the first woman to win the Jacob F. Schoellkopf medal in 1992.

Awards and honors 1984 Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 1985 Guggenheim Fellowship 1986 Honorary Fulbright Fellow 1987 American Chemical Society Garvan–Olin Medal 1990 Anachem Award 1990 Honorary member of Iota Sigma Pi 1992 Jacob F. Schoellkopf Medal 1996 American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Award in Electrochemistry 1998 Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award 1999 The Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry Charles N. Reilley Award in Electroanalytical Chemistry

Selected publications Osteryoung, Janet G.; Osteryoung, Robert A. (1985-01-01). "Square wave voltammetry". Analytical Chemistry. 57 (1): 101–110. doi:10.1021/ac00279a004. ISSN 0003-2700. Aoki, Koichi; Akimoto, Koji; Tokuda, Koichi; Matsuda, Hiroaki; Osteryoung, Janet (1984-08-10). "Linear sweep voltammetry at very small stationary disk electrodes". Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry and Interfacial Electrochemistry. 171 (1): 219–230. doi:10.1016/0022-0728(84)80115-1. ISSN 0022-0728. O'Dea, John J.; Osteryoung, Janet G. (1993-11-01). "Characterization of quasi-reversible surface processes by square-wave voltammetry". Analytical Chemistry. 65 (21): 3090–3097. doi:10.1021/ac00069a024. ISSN 0003-2700.

Personal life Janet Jones was once married to Robert Osteryoung, who was also an award-winning chemist. In April 2010, she married Chris Cobb in Washington, D.C. Together, Jones and Cobb established the Comis Foundation, a family philanthropic foundation to benefit children and youth.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Janet G. Osteryoung

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Janet G. Osteryoung claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Janet G. Osteryoung before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Janet G. Osteryoung ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Janet G. Osteryoung

In research: Janet G. Osteryoung appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Janet G. Osteryoung in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Janet G. Osteryoung is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1939 births, 2021 deaths, American LGBTQ scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Janet G. Osteryoung outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Janet G. Osteryoung in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Janet G. Osteryoung means in your own words.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Janet G. Osteryoung in simple terms?

Why does Janet G. Osteryoung matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Janet G. Osteryoung?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Janet G. Osteryoung.