“I didn’t expect it at all,” she told the Toronto Star. “I hope I will be able to encourage more girls to get into this field.”
Professor Kumacheva’s work covers wide ground, especially the study of polymers.
A polymer is a chemical produced when small molecules join together to form larger ones.
Kumacheva has broken new ground by discovering how these particles link, leading to insights on how they can be made. The wide range of uses includes passport encryption, drugs that only target bad cells, and improving night-vision technology.
The professor, who holds six patents, has taught in Israel, France, and Oxford. But her students know her for her friendliness and determination.
“Professor Kumacheva is a very easy-going person. In meetings she’s very determined to get things done and make progress,” said Dan Voicu, an undergrad studying pharmaceutical chemistry and toxicology who worked with Kumacheva on polymer properties. “She always lets you know that you are a very important person in her lab, and she gives you a lot of freedom in what you do.”
Ethan Tumarkin, a chemistry grad student conducting lab work under Kumacheva’s supervision, agreed.
“Working with Eugenia is a very fast-paced, interesting, and exciting environment. Sitting and discussing the next step of a project with her usually leads to many new and fascinating ideas.”
Kumacheva first taught in the Soviet Union after earning her PhD in Chemistry. She arrived in Toronto in 1995 to study the morphology of multi-component polymer systems.
Since the Women in Science Awards program launched in 1998, it has annually awarded $100,000 to five laureates, one for each continental area, with the exception of 1999.
