Iowa Females You Should Know: Cynthia Jenks
Why
Cynthia Jenks is assistant director for scientific planning and the division director of chemical and biological science at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory. Jenks is an accomplished scientist, innovative scientific administrator and leader, and dedicated mentor.
According to those who nominated her, Jenks possesses a tireless motivation to improve the organization and is willing to do the work to implement change. Because of both her forward thinking and her tenacity, she’s known as someone who gets it done and gets it done well. She also encourages and opens doors for the many people she’s mentored.
Where she’s been
After more than 20 years as a successful chemist, Jenks now plays a key role in the Ames Laboratory’s scientific leadership. She is the head of scientific planning and advancement, the director of Ames Laboratory’s chemistry and biological science efforts, and manages some of the lab’s strategic science communications. She also co-leads an innovative “Big Idea” scientific coalition of 12 national labs called Energy Everywhere. Jenks and her Energy Everywhere collaborators are working to develop new modular processes to convert diverse, distributed waste feedstocks into fuel and chemicals.
Connection points
Jenks earned her doctorate degree in physical chemistry from Columbia University. In addition to her work at the Ames Laboratory, she is an outstanding volunteer in scientific youth outreach, has organized local Science Nights, is a longtime judge for Ames Laboratory’s Science Bowl, and has volunteered with Food at First since 2007.
Contact her
Find Jenks on LinkedIn or contact her via email. Learn more about her on the Department of Energy’s website.
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