31 Facts About Donna Nelson

Donna J Nelson was born on 1954 and is an American chemist and professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma.

Donna Nelson served as the science advisor to the AMC television show Breaking Bad.

Donna Nelson was the 2016 President of the American Chemical Society with her presidential activities focusing on and guided by communities in chemistry.

Donna Nelson's research focused on six primary topics, generally categorized in two areas, Scientific Research and America's Scientific Readiness.

Donna Nelson was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma, a small town known as the center of the Muscogee Creek Nation.

Donna Nelson's father was the only physician in the town.

Donna Nelson earned her Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at the University of Oklahoma.

Donna Nelson joined the University of Oklahoma as a faculty member.

Donna Nelson was a faculty fellow in the University of Oklahoma Provost's Office from 1989 to 1990.

Donna Nelson was the first woman faculty fellow and the first assistant professor to enter the position, being promoted during the year.

Donna Nelson was a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003 with Nancy Hopkins and in 2010 with Michael Strano.

Donna Nelson was named one of the "70 Most Inspirational Women Leaders Impacting the World" by Business.

Donna Nelson has received the ACS Nalley Award, ACS Stan Israel Award, SACNAS Distinguished Scientist Award, Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame, ACS Oklahoma Chemist of the Year, Oklahoma Outstanding Professor Award, Women's eNews 21 Leaders for the 21st Century, Minority Health Professions Foundation Hall of Fame Inductee, and Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award.

Donna Nelson has written over 200 research-related publications, and has given hundreds of invited presentations to national meetings of professional societies and organizations, universities, and radio and TV programs, such as NPR, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and Marketplace Morning Report.

Dr Donna Nelson collected, compiled, and disseminated CDC statistics showing that fentanyl deaths increased from 3,000 in 2013 to 75,000 in 2023.

Donna Nelson was alone in studying and reporting the statistics in these graphs.

Donna Nelson built a community doing bench chemistry on fentanyl, by organizing symposia on fentanyl at the 2023 Fall and 2025 Spring ACS Meetings and 2023 SWRM ACS Meeting.

In 2005, Donna Nelson began applying to single-walled carbon nanotube reactions the knowledge gained from her earlier research on the effects of substituents upon reactions of alkenes.

Donna Nelson applied nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to examine the effects of substituents upon SWCNT reaction and association with a variety of classes of organic molecules, such as alcohols, amines, ketones, aldehydes and nitro compounds.

In 2011, Donna Nelson examined comprehensive undergraduate organic chemistry textbooks in use at that time, in order to determine consistency in cyclohexane conformation across the texts and with research literature; they recommended changes to remedy inconsistencies in cyclohexane conformer nomenclature and structural drawings across the textbooks.

Donna Nelson utilized her teaching assignment of large sections of organic chemistry to develop and evaluate learning devices for her students.

Donna Nelson surveyed students in order to determine factors which influence students to select or remain in science majors.

From FY2001 to FY2004, Donna Nelson surveyed tenured and tenure-track university faculty members of the "top 50" departments in each of 14 science and engineering disciplines.

Donna Nelson received the 2004 National Organization for Women Woman of Courage Award for carrying out and disseminating the results of the Nelson Diversity Surveys.

Donna Nelson has written about diversity in the STEM fields for outlets, such as PBS and the Association for Women in Science.

Reporters said they were told that no transcript of the talk existed, so Donna Nelson suggested that they instead request a copy of the recording of the talk which had been made by President Summers accompanying undergraduate assistant.

Donna Nelson is a proponent of scientific accuracy in television, film and other media.

Donna Nelson was the science adviser for the AMC TV series, Breaking Bad.

Donna Nelson checked scripts and provided dialogue for the show and drew chemical structures and wrote chemical equations which were used as props.

Donna Nelson participated in the "Geek of the Week" program of David Saltzberg, by visiting the set of The Big Bang Theory in March 2013 and again in March 2014, in addition to answering a few chemistry-related questions.

Donna Nelson collaborated with Native American tribes to determine incidences in, effects of, and attitudes toward diabetes in Oklahoma Native Americans.