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 Mei Hong, John Corbett and Victor Lin. Photo by Bob Elbert, ISU News Service. NEWS RELEASE 3-1-10 Contacts: Victor Lin, Chemistry, named next Corbett Professor AMES, Iowa – Victor Lin, professor of chemistry at Iowa State University, has been named the next John D. Corbett Professor in Chemistry. This professorship, which begins July 1, 2010, marks the end of the first professorship held by Mei Hong, professor of chemistry. The Corbett Professorship in Chemistry was established by John D. Corbett, Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, professor of chemistry and senior chemist with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory. Corbett made plans through his estate to support three-year professorships for faculty members in the Department of Chemistry at $100,000 a year over a period of time. "This professorship is designed to reward outstanding faculty members," Corbett said. "As a former department chair, I'm very familiar with the troubles the Department of Chemistry has had in keeping faculty here at Iowa State. People who do well here get national recognition and are very attractive to other colleges and universities. I'm hopeful this will help in the reward and retention of those current and future faculty members.” Lin said he is encouraged by the professorship. “This award was established by a chemist that I deeply respect and who has had a very successful scientific career,” he said. “His intention is to use this as an incentive to nourish a new generation of chemists and it’s a responsibility to utilize this money in the most effective way.” Lin is the director of the Center of Catalysis at Iowa State and also serves as the Program Director of the Chemical and Biological Sciences Program in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory. His research centers on the design of functional nanoporous materials (nanoparticles), which are used for catalysis applications in energy-related fields and biotechnological applications in health care and plant sciences. “It’s important for a basic physical scientist like myself to develop new science and new catalytic principles to better interface with the needs of the real world,” Lin said. “This professorship gives me a great degree of freedom and allows me to invest the research and development money in areas that I’m interested in.” A majority of the professorship funding will go towards professional support and expenses each year including discretionary research funding, stipends, operating expenses, equipment and travel. The remaining yearly funds can be used to enhance the faculty member’s salary. Jake Petrich, chair of the Department of Chemistry, said, "Victor is an extremely interactive and creative scientist who serves the Department of Chemistry and the university in a multitude of ways. It is wonderful to be able to recognize his contributions and value to the ISU community with the Corbett Professorship. “We are very thankful to John Corbett for making this professorship available,” Petrich added. “Its stature is measured not only by the monetary award, but also by the name it bears. John is without a doubt one of the most illustrious scientists that the Department of Chemistry has ever had, and there have been many.” Lin received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. He came to Iowa State in 1999 after working as a Skaggs postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Research Institute. Lin has received a number of awards for his work, including a National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2002, a Liberal Arts and Sciences award for Early Achievement in Research/Artistic Creativity in 2004 at Iowa State University, an Outstanding Technology Development award of the U.S. Federal Laboratory Consortium in 2005, and the ISU Award for Mid-Career Achievement in Research in 2008. The Corbett Professorship medallion ceremony will take place at the College of Liberal and Sciences 2010 Convocation on Wednesday, September 1. -30- |
