eDiane Grob Schmidt (born November 1945) is an American

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

, who was the executive at Procter & Gamble Co. in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, from 1981 to 2014. In 2015, she served as president of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

(ACS). As of 2022, she was serving as the chair of the board of visitors for the department of chemistry at the

University of Tennessee, Knoxville The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

Education

Diane Grob Schmidt grew up in Lorain, Ohio, and

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

. She graduated from Red Bank High School in the class of 1963. She received her A.B. from the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...

in 1967, her M.S. from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

, and her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

in 1981.

Career

Diane Grob Schmidt joined Procter & Gamble Co. in

, in 1981 and retired in 2014. She was appointed as a senior scientist from 1992 to 1997 and as section head beginning in 1997. As a section head, she was responsible for safety and regulatory affairs. She has also been an adjunct professor in the department of chemistry in the University of Cincinnati. Diane Grob Schmidt holds a number of patents, including a patent for

Pert Plus Pert Plus is an American brand of shampoo and conditioner (or 2-in-1) products. It was introduced in 1987 by Procter & Gamble as a reformulation of the existing Pert shampoo product introduced in 1980. It is known in New Zealand and Australia as ...

shampoo and conditioner formula. She led the team of scientists at Procter & Gamble who developed Pert Plus, the first combined shampoo and conditioner. She has served on the editorial boards of the ''Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists'' and the ''Journal of Chemical Health & Safety''. Diane Grob Schmidt is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and of the

American Industrial Hygiene Association The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization, whose mission is "Creating knowledge to protect worker health." The American Industrial Hygiene Association works to provide information and resources to Ind ...

. She has been a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) since 1968 and has held a wide variety of positions whose scope has included chemical health and safety, and chemistry & the law. These included three consecutive terms on the board of directors. In 2015, she became president of the

(ACS). Her presidential theme was “Inspiring and Innovating for Tomorrow.”

Awards and honors

* 2014, Distinguished Alumna of the University of Cincinnati * 2012, Henry A. Hill Award, ACS Division of Professional Relations * 2011, Fellow, ACS * 2004, Fellow, ACS Chemical Health & Safety Division * 1995, Distinguished Alumna, from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga * 1994, Distinguished Scientist of Cincinnati, from the Engineers and Scientists of Cincinnati (first woman so honored) *

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

(life member) * Iota Sigma Pi (life member)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Diane Grob Living people Presidents of the American Chemical Society American women chemists 21st-century American chemists Place of birth missing (living people) 1945 births 21st-century American women scientists