Paths in Science: Reflections with Veronica Vaida

Veronica Vaida began her academic journey in Bucharest, Romania, and earned her B.Sc. in Chemistry from Brown University (1973). She completed her Ph.D. at Yale University (1977) and continued at Harvard University as a Xerox Postdoctoral Fellow, then as Assistant and Associate Professor of Chemistry.

Since 1984, she has been a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder and a Fellow of CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences).

Her research bridges physical chemistry and atmospheric science, with a focus on light-initiated reactions relevant to planetary atmospheres — from the prebiotic Earth to the present.

Professor Vaida has been recognized with numerous honors, including fellowships from the Sloan Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as membership in the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Her work continues to inspire new generations of scientists.