Founded in 1971, AWIS is a 25-year-old nonprofit organization with more than 5,000 members dedicated to achieving equity and full participation for women in science and technology. The selection of the 25 AWIS fellows is part of the organization's 25th anniversary celebration.
Skinner, a former senior research scientist in ORNL's Biology Division, is among the 25 individuals who were selected to the AWIS fellows for their long-term dedication to the organization's mission. The honor adds to more than 10 honors or awards she has received throughout her career. These include the Excellence in Research Award from the Crustacean Society (1993) and a distinguished Alumni Award from Tufts University (1994).
She has dedicated much of her career to the study of the biology and biochemistry of anthropods with a particular emphasis on Crustacea, a group of animals including lobsters, shrimp and most notably in her work, crabs. She has trained 22 students and post doctoral fellows who currently hold positions at the National Institutes of Health, Georgetown University, Colorado State University and elsewhere.
Skinner has authored or co-authored nearly 90 papers and has been featured as a keynote speaker in more than 25 symposia. She has also been a member of a number of scientific societies and has been an officer in six of them. She has also been a member of the editorial board of such publications as Biological Bulletin, Gene, Growth, and Physiological Zoology.
A native of Newton, Mass., Skinner received a bachelor's degree in biology from Tufts University in 1952 and a doctorate in biology from Harvard University in 1958. She joined ORNL's Biology Division in 1968, after serving four years as an assistant professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at New York University School of Medicine. In 1978, she became a senior research scientist in the Biology Division .
Skinner and her husband, John Cook, reside in Oak Ridge.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corp.