Anna Diana Jordan

Anna was born and raised in Cairo Egypt where she obtained her BSc in 1963 from the American University in Cairo. From an early age she spoke fluent Greek, English, French and street Arabic thanks to her ear for languages and the insistence of her parents. She continued her academic career with a MSc in physical chemistry at Washington State University in 1965. Then she moved on to the University of Alberta where she obtained her PhD in 1970 under the tutelage of the late Ron Cavell and started a lasting partnership with her husband Robert Jordan. She always was a dedicated educator, starting with her job as laboratory supervisor of the second year physical chemistry labs. This brought out her ability to interact with undergraduate students, graduate students and the many technical staff who helped with equipment repairs and replacements.

After 40 years of service, Anna retired in 2014 and threw a large party for as many of those that she could find who had helped her along the way. She even managed to serve Santa Ana wine on the University premises. But she didn't stop there. She was aware that many chemistry graduate students for whom English was a second language where having trouble writing their theses and decided to become the volunteer "Editor in Residence”. She continued with this service until her passing, at which time she had done 67 theses. Her editing skills also were invaluable for the books published by her husband.