It is with deep regret that we must inform you of Dr. Justine Roth’s passing this week. She was an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry. Dr. Roth’s family, students, and departmental colleagues have been notified.

Dr. Roth began working at Johns Hopkins in 2003. Her research – described as relevant to health, energy and the environment – focused in part on metal containing radical enzymes involved in energy production in mammals and photosynthesis in plants, both processes essential to life. She also investigated the interactions of transition metals with various compounds of oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen in biological processes. She and her research group were working on ways to combine natural or synthetic catalysts with light to speed the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Dr. Roth was a recognized expert in her field, and during her time at Johns Hopkins, she was regularly invited as a speaker at national and international conferences. She received several prestigious awards, including an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award, and the Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar Award.  Kenneth Karlin, chair of the department, said of Dr. Roth, “Justine was not only a colleague but also a friend to many in the department. We are terribly saddened by the news.”

She was a valued member of the Chemistry Department, and she will be greatly missed.