Linda Crumpler, Recipient of the 2024 Tobacco Science Research Conference Lifetime Achievement Award

The Policy Committee of the 77^th Tobacco Science Research Conference selected Linda Crumpler to receive the 2024 TSRC Lifetime Achievement Award, and it was with great pleasure to see Ms. Crumpler receive this recognition.

Linda’s career within the tobacco industry spanned over 44 years, where she made numerous professional contributions and touched countless careers of scientists across the industry.

Linda began her career at RJ Reynolds in 1979 and during her 29 years at Reynolds, authored over 90 reports and manuscripts which advanced the state of analytical chemistry within the tobacco industry. Linda drove credibility of industry science within organizations such as the American Society for Testing and Materials and governmental organizations including Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration. She championed the presence of U.S. manufacturers within international scientific discussions through her roles in the Confederation of European Community Cigarette Manufacturers, Tobacco Institute of Japan Expert Committee, and other international analytical chemistry testing groups. Her passion for consensus-driven test methodology became one of the areas which Linda is best known for across the industry. She led the implementation of ISO accreditation within the Reynolds laboratory systems, translating into her lengthy presence within ISO/TC 126 where she led the development of numerous ISO test methods. She went on to use this expertise in developing quality testing systems around the world, including countries such as Uruguay and Egypt.

Linda elevated analytical chemistry within the tobacco and nicotine industry through her participation in CORESTA and TSRC. She was a member of the CORESTA Scientific Commission in 2004–2008 and 2014–2016, going on to serve as Scientific Commission President in 2012. She widely contributed to TSRC through her role as conference chair in 2004, 2010, and 2016, not including her numerous presentations over the years. Upon joining Cerulean in 2010, Linda authored over 10 conference presentations, publications, and patents. This commitment to the state of the science ensured she was at the forefront of the scientific debate over her 44-year career. I believe that while we may forget manuscripts or test methods, these kinds of contributions will be the true lasting measure of a career.

In addition to advancing science, Linda is known for developing young professionals, career mentoring, and championing diversity within the tobacco industry scientific community. I will personally never forget early in my career, being invited to Linda’s home so that I could spend the evening with a room of women who had all worked in tobacco science over the last 40 years, including the first woman to be hired as a scientist by RJ Reynolds. It was there that Linda created a space to share the story of how representation of women in industry science occurred. She opened a window to the journey that female scientists who came before me took to ensure that women, such as myself, could be taken seriously as a tobacco and nicotine industry scientist.

Linda has touched so many people’s lives and created positive spaces where science could be debated by everyone in the room. I believe that without scientists like Linda, not only would the state of tobacco science be less robust but the spaces and conversations less inclusive.

With these many contributions in mind, I am thrilled that Linda Crumpler was recognized for a lifetime of outstanding contributions to tobacco science through her receipt of the TSRC Lifetime Achievement Award.