Ruth Ann Murphy, PhD, earned a BS in Chemistry and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin with additional graduate studies in Organic Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After teaching appointments in Chemistry at Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, and the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, she served as Chemistry Coordinator and Assistant Professor at the University of Albuquerque. As Professor of Chemistry, she then chaired the Division of Science and Math at Howard Payne University, Brownwood, Texas. This was followed by a teaching appointment at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB), Belton, Texas, where she continues as tenured Professor of Chemistry. At UMHB she has served as Chair of the Department of Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Geology; Amy LeVesconte Professor of Chemistry; Chair of the Health Professions Advisory Committee; Director of the Campus Recycling Program; and Principal Investigator for the Robert A. Welch Foundation of Houston chemical research grant. She has served as Chair of the Texas Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, and is a member of the Texas Association of Advisors for the Health Professions and the American Chemical Society including the Division of Chemical Education, Division of Chemical Health and Safety, and Division of Fluorine Chemistry. She is the author of Environmental Chemistry in the Lab, and co-author with Dr.

James Beard of Environmental Chemistry in Society, Third Edition, both published in 2022 by CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL. Dr. Murphy enjoys introducing her students to chemical research and developing studies for them which align with their individual interests.