Zafra M. Lerman


Zafra M. Lerman is an American chemist, educator, and humanitarian. She is the President of the Malta Conferences Foundation, which aims to promote peace by bringing together scientists from otherwise hostile countries to discuss science and foster international scientific and technical collaboration. From 1986 to 2010, she chaired the American Chemical Society's Subcommittee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights. She has been successful in preventing executions, releasing prisoners of conscience from jail and bringing dissidents to freedom. She is the recipient of many awards for education and science diplomacy, including the 1999 from U.S. President Clinton, the 2005 Nyholm Prize for Education from the Royal Society of Chemistry, the 2015 Science Diplomacy Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the 2016 Andrei Sakharov Award for human rights from the American Physical Society.

Early career

Lerman received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. She conducted research on isotope effects at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Cornell University and Northwestern University in the US, and the ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Science education and the arts

Lerman used the arts to help teach science at all levels. In 1977, she became the first science faculty member at Columbia College Chicago, an institution of higher education specializing in arts and media disciplines. In 1981, she founded the Department of Science and Mathematics there and served as department Chair through 1991. In 1991, she founded the Institute for Science Education and Science Communication at Columbia College and served as its head until 2009. Since 1991 she was a Distinguished Professor of Science and Public Policy.
To promote integrated teaching of science with creative arts, she founded MIMSAD, Inc. in 1995.
Part of her teaching philosophy is captured in this quote, from a 2011 lecture entitled "Creativity in 3D: "Drawing, Dance, and Drama":
"Students remember and understand abstract concepts best by producing their own artistic projects and using their own creativity. Through this process, students are active learners, and utilize both their left and right brain, instead of being just passive observers."
On March 18, 2015, Dr. Lerman was awarded the title of "Distinguished Professor Emerita" by Columbia College Chicago.

Peace activism

In addition to developing innovative methods of teaching science through the arts, Lerman started using science to promote peace and human rights around the globe. In 1986 she was named Chair of the ACS' Subcommittee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights. Among other activities, this group's mission included helping scientists who, for political reasons, were jailed, abused, and sentenced to execution. She held that position for 25 years.
Starting in 2001, Lerman began working with the American Chemical Society Subcommittee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights to develop a scientific conference that would bring together researchers from many different, often mutually hostile, nations in the Middle East so they could cooperatively work toward solving problems facing the region. With support from the American Chemical Society, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, the first conference was held on the island of Malta from December 6 to 11, 2003. Attendees included six Nobel Laureates and scientists from 15 Middle Eastern Countries. The conference included five workshops to foster cross-border collaborations:
The organizers followed up by hosting a second meeting two years later, Malta II.
The meeting was honored by United States Senator Dick Durbin in a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate entitled "Chemists Working Cooperatively".
Lerman led the initiative to continue with the conferences and founded the Malta Conferences Foundation to support them. She secured the support of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
List of Malta Conferences
For her work, The American Association for the Advancement of Science awarded Lerman the 2014 Award for Science Diplomacy.

Notable awards and honors

Selected publications

YearTitleFirst AuthorCitation
1964Temperature dependence of the secondary isotope effect in aqueous alkaline ester hydrolysis.Halevi, E. A.Proc. Chem. Soc., London, p. 174.
1989Scientific Freedom and Human Rights in the Soviet UnionLerman, Zafra M.Chemical Education Newsletter, American Chemical Society
1992Report on Human Rights in ChinaLerman, Zafra M.Chemical Education Newsletter, American Chemical Society.
2003ACS Delegation Travels to CubaHofman, M.The Chemical Bulletin, 90, 4, 8, American Chemical Society, 2003
2003From the Outreach Front! IAC Conference in CubaLerman, Zafra M.J. Chem. Educ., 80, 383, 2003.
2003Citizen Chemists.Lerman, Zafra M.Chemical and Engineering News, 87, 42-43, 2003
2003Using the Arts to Make Chemistry Accessible to EverybodyLerman, Zafra M.
2005Chemistry: An Inspiration for Theater and DanceLerman, Zafra M.
2006Contacts, Collaborations, and the BuddhaLerman, Zafra M.Reflections from the Frontiers; Explorations for the Future; Gordon Research Conferences 1931-2006, p. 109
2006Frontiers of Chemical Sciences II: Research and Education in the Middle EastLerman, Zafra M.Chemistry in Israel - Bulletin of the Israel Chemical Society, vol. 21, pp. 21–23
2007Using the Arts to Make Chemistry Accessible to EverybodyLerman, Zafra M.Studies in Philosophy, Culture & Education, pp. 149–165
2008Fostering Peace Through Scientific Bridges.Lerman, Zafra M.ACS International E-Newsletter, January/February 2008 issue
2009Chemistry and chemical education as a bridge to peaceLerman, Zafra M.In Chemistry Education in the ICT Age, Gupta-Bhowon, M.; Jhaumeer-Laulloo, S.; Li Kam Wah, H.; Ramasami, P.
2011Using Chemistry to Bridge Gaps Between Nations.Lerman, Zafra M.In the book “Chemistry for Mankind: Innovative Ideas in the Life Sciences”
2013Human Rights, Education, and Peace: A Personal OdysseyLerman, Zafra M.
2014The Malta Conferences, Frontiers of Science: Research and Education in the Middle EastLerman, Zafra M.Forum on International Physics. American Physical Society. pp 19– 21. 2014.
2014Research and Education in the Middle EastLerman, Zafra M.Chemistry International.3. pp 6, 27- 29. 2014.
2014The Challenges for Chemistry Education in AfricaLerman, Zafra M.African Journal of Chemical Education,4, pp 80–90. 2014.
2015Science Offers A Whole New DiplomacyLerman, Zafra M.TWAS Newsletter, Vol. 27 No. 1, 2015, p. 23
2015From Fighting for Human Rights to Building a Bridge to Peace: A Scientist’s Role and ResponsibilityLerman, Zafra M.Science & Diplomacy, 4, pp 1–7. 2015.
2015The Malta Conferences: Fostering International Scientific Collaborations Toward Peace in the Middle East.Hoffman, Morton Z Lerman,
Zafra M.		Jobs, Collaborations, and Women Leaders in the Global Chemistry Enterprise; Wu, M.L.; Cheng, H.N.; Miller, B., Eds., American Chemical Society, Washington, DC
2015From Building Roads To Building Peace: A Woman Chemist’s Odyssey.Lerman, Zafra M.Jobs, Collaborations, and Women Leaders in the Global Chemistry Enterprise; Wu, M.L.; Cheng, H.N.; Miller, B., Eds., American Chemical Society, Washington, DC
2018A Chain Reaction for Peace.Lerman, Z.M., Margolin, B.Guest editorial in Chemistry and Engineering News. 2018, 96, pp. 2.
2018Resolution on the Water Crisis in GazaLerman, Z.M.Chemistry International, 2018, 2, 32.
2018Education, Human Rights, and Peace –
Contributions to the Progress of Humanity		Zafra Margolin LermanPure and Applied Chemistry, 91, pp. 351-360.