UCLA alumna Dr. Donna Speckman (Ph.D. ’84, Hawthorne group) received the 2025 Alumni Legacy Award at the Chemistry & Biochemistry Departmental Awards Ceremony on June 9.
The award honors distinguished UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry alumni who have received a graduate-level degree from UCLA, in recognition of their achievements in life, and generous support and service to the university.
Dr. Donna Speckman currently serves as a Senior Scientist in the Energy Technology Department within the Physical Sciences Laboratories at The Aerospace Corporation. She joined the organization in 1984 after earning her Ph.D. in Inorganic/Organometallic Chemistry from UCLA, where she conducted research under Professor M. Frederick Hawthorne.
Over her career at Aerospace, Speckman has led and contributed to a wide range of projects focused on spacecraft materials. Her work has addressed topics such as solar array degradation mechanisms, atomic oxygen interactions with satellite surfaces, metallic dendrite-induced device failures, quantum dot nanotechnology, magnetic storage materials, antistatic microsphere coatings, and chemical vapor deposition for metal and semiconductor thin films.
Her contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including several corporate awards for work on classified programs, a NASA Engineering and Safety Center Group Achievement Award for resolving a coolant chemistry issue aboard the International Space Station, and recognition as The Aerospace Corporation’s “Woman of the Year.”
In addition to her research, Speckman served for over six years as Director of Development in the Research and Program Development Office at Aerospace. In this role, she managed a $15 million research portfolio as part of the company’s Technical Investment Program.
Committed to education and mentorship, Speckman has served as a visiting professor at Pepperdine University and currently teaches part-time at El Camino College. She actively volunteers at science fairs and mentors students through STEM Advantage—a program that supports and inspires primarily first-generation college students from underserved communities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
In February 2025, Speckman was one of three panelists at the Chemistry and Materials for Space Science and Technology workshop hosted by the UCLA SPACE Institute and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. In her talk, Speckman highlighted the critical role of materials science in ensuring spacecraft durability. From advanced solar arrays to innovative propulsion systems, Speckman illustrated the breadth of chemistry’s impact. “Materials that look great on Earth can crumble under space radiation,” she said. “We need chemists, now more than ever, to help us develop a new generation of tools and materials for this new space economy.”
Previous recipients of the Alumni Legacy Award are: in 2023 Catherine F. Clarke and Arlene Russell in 2022 to Dr. Ralph Bauer, in 2019 to Dr. Shyr-Jin “Jim” Tsay, and in 2018 to Dr. Audree Fowler, Dr. Atsuko Fujimoto, Dr. Margaret Holzer and Dr. Kate Murashige. (Due to the pandemic, the award was not given in 2021 and 2022.)
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.
