“Dr. Gudmundsdottir has established herself as a national and international expert,” Dean Valerio Ferme wrote in nominating her for the 2020 STEMM Award.
Ferme said he was especially impressed that Gudmundsdottir’s many publications include papers co-written with undergraduate and high school students.
“I hope the committee finds this as remarkable an achievement as I do. We often speak about recruiting students to STEMM disciplines and exposing them to experiential learning in their fields. However, few are the ones who actually do this,” Ferme said.
Gudmundsdottir said teamwork is a big part of her work ethic.
“Chemistry is a collaborative field. I really like collaborating with my students and watching them collaborate with researchers around the world,” she said.
Research benefits from having people with different skill sets and life experiences approach a problem, she said.
“I like the diversity in our field. It’s a mini-society, people from different backgrounds trying to learn from each other,” she said. “We’ve sent students to Germany, Canada, Abu Dhabi. Many had never been outside the country before. It’s fun for me because I see them grow into professionals.”