College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

Inorganic chemist

With retirement on the horizon, Robert Angelici is recognized by the American Chemical Society.

With more than 370 publications, countless research grants to his name and major contributions to inorganic chemistry, Robert Angelici, Distinguished Professor of liberal arts and sciences and professor of chemistry, has more than enough credentials to be recognized by the American Chemical Society (ACS). But Angelici feels it's a contribution he made early in his career that was an important factor in his receiving the ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry.

This contribution is his laboratory text, Synthesis and Technique in Inorganic Chemistry. As a young assistant professor at Iowa State in the mid-'60s, Angelici discovered that the inorganic laboratory course for juniors and seniors was in dire need of a textbook.

"At the time, the students were taught in a way that required them to make starting compounds for the chemistry research groups," Angelici said. "I thought the course didn't give students a broad understanding of techniques in inorganic chemistry. I looked for experiments that gave them skills they would need to become functioning chemists."

Now in its third edition, Synthesis and Technique in Inorganic Chemistry remains a primary textbook for college inorganic chemistry labs throughout the nation.

Angelici has also been active within the ACS, serving on a number of committees including chair of the Division of Inorganic Chemistry. He has received numerous other awards, including several teaching awards from Iowa State. He was a fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and also a Royal Society Guest Research Fellow in England.

Angelici is the third Iowa State chemistry professor to receive the ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry since 2000. Previous recipients were John Corbett (2000) and James Espenson (2004), both Distinguished Professors of chemistry.

"It is remarkable that three ISU faculty members have received this award within an 8-year period. No other unviersity, including the very top chemistry departments in the country, have three recipients of this award in the past 25 years," Angelici said.

The $5,000 award, sponsored by Strem Chemicals, Inc., recognizes individuals who advanced inorganic chemistry by significant service in addition to performance of outstanding research.

The ACS award comes as a capstone to Angelici's career since he plans to retire in May 2007.

"It's a nice kind of recognition for a lifetime of contributions to inorganic chemistry," he said. "It would have been better if it had come five years sooner, because recipients of this award in the past are pretty much assured that their next NSF (National Science Foundation) grant application will be funded. But I'm not writing any more NSF grants at this stage of my career."

That doesn't mean that Angelici's research group isn't still active. He spent this past summer writing eight papers on the group's latest research. And he plans to continue his writing even after his retirement, although his lab's research activities will come to a close this May.

Angelici's research has involved many different areas of organometallic chemistry including the interaction of biodiesel, peptides, and buckybowls with transition metals – elements that "most people don't worry about too often."

"My research has gone in many different directions," he said. "I've very much enjoyed generating new ideas with the goal of creating new research opportunities in chemistry."