Special issue in honour of Dr. Mary Lowe Good

The Inorganic Chemistry Division (Division II) of IUPAC dedicates this special issue of Pure and Applied Chemistry to honor Dr. Mary L. Good, a pioneer in the field of inorganic chemistry and a leader in the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

Mary L. Good [1], [2], [3] was born in Grapewine (Texas, USA) and was drawn to chemistry after learning about Marie Curie and her captivating scientific achievements. She graduated in chemistry from the University of Central Arkansas and received her PhD in inorganic chemistry from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 1955. She started her academic career at the chemistry faculty of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and she moved to the New Orleans campus of the Louisiana State University in 1958. In 1980 she became vice president and director of research for Universal Oil Products and worked on innovative technologies, such as the development of processes to remedy hazardous waste streams. Along the way she pursued other activities, including one year as president of the American Chemical Society.

Dr. Mary Good, as a professor at Louisiana State University, pioneered the experimental technique of Mössbauer spectroscopy, which uses gamma rays, in 1967. She applied this technique to clarify the molecular structure of complicated systems including metal ions, especially for the characterization of ruthenium catalysts [4], [5], [6]. The study on stabilization of ruthenium compounds is known as the base of future investigations of automotive emission control catalysts [7, 8].

In addition to a distinguished career in academia, industry and government, Mary L. Good was the first woman to be elected as head of an IUPAC technical division, serving as President of Division II (Inorganic Chemistry) from 1981 to 1985, and as member of the Bureau and the Executive Committee of IUPAC for eight years (1985–1993) [9].

The special issue of PAC dedicated to Mary L. Good includes contributions from different areas of inorganic chemistry, covering solid state magnetochemistry, equilibria in solution, hybrid gel – inorganic chemisty, thin solid 2D films,  ‘lanthanide’ chemistry, nanomaterials, and physics in inorganic materials.

Credit University of Arkansas at Little Rock. We acknowledge Professor Lawrence Whitman (Dean of Donaghey College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics University of Arkansas at Little Rock) for providing the photograph.