Elsa Abuin
Elsa Beatriz Abuin Saccomano (13 December 1942 – 18 April 2012) was an Argentine chemist who specialized in physical chemistry, especially chemical kinetics. She was born in Buenos Aires and earned a chemistry degree from the University of Buenos Aires in 1966.
After political events in Argentina, her research group moved to Chile, where she continued her work as a professor and earned her PhD in Chemistry in 1974 at the Technical University of the State (UTE). Her dissertation, Fotoquímica de cetonas alifáticas en fase gaseosa, was supervised by Eduardo Lissi, and she and Lissi published many papers together.
Abuin was known for her work in physical chemistry and chemical kinetics. In 1987 she published a UNESCO monograph, Macromoleculas en Solución, and she contributed to the University of Santiago’s series on physical chemistry. She was highly regarded in Chile for her role in developing the chemical sciences.
That same year she received a Guggenheim Fellowship for a study on fluorescence probing of colloidal particles, becoming the first Chilean woman to win the award. During the fellowship she conducted research in North America at the University of Rochester and the University of Ottawa, where she worked with Tito Scaiano.
She helped found and organize the Encuentros Latinoamericanos de Fotoquímica y Fotobiología conference, continuing to be involved as late as 2010. Elsa Abuin died on 18 April 2012; Photochemistry and Photobiology published a special memorial issue in her honor.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 09:20 (CET).