College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

Full-time part-timer

Even after 52 years on campus, chemist John Corbett isn't slowing down.
John Corbett scoffs when anyone suggests he should slow down.

"Why should I do that?" he asks. "I'm having so much fun. What else would I do?"

For the past 52 years, Corbett has been a chemist at Iowa State University and the Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory. His only concession to slowing down is moving to half-time.

But even at half-time there is no such thing as a 40-hour week for Corbett, Distinguished Professor of liberal arts and sciences, professor of chemistry and senior chemist with the Ames Laboratory.

He continues to receive funding from the Department of Energy and recently had his grant from the National Science Foundation renewed. Four "top-notch" post-docs work in his lab with another coming to campus soon

He travels to meeting after meeting and has several talks scheduled. Two international organizations have invited Corbett to speak later this year, one each in the Ukraine and India, and he continues to publish around 12 articles a year.

Doesn't sound much like someone that's slowing down any time soon.

"There's nothing else I like as much as what I'm doing here," Corbett said. "If you enjoy what you're doing why do anything else? Continuing my work is my own doing. No one is pushing me. I push myself."

Pushing himself is something Corbett has done since he came to Iowa State as an assistant professor in 1952. He says that his success has had a lot to do with "imagination, luck and serendipity."

"There are times when we (his research group) do something, we find something new and unexpected," he said. "We're still exploring. That's the secret to our success."

Almost since the day Corbett stepped foot on campus he has had success. His research interests have revolved around inorganic solid-state chemistry emphasizing strong metal-metal bonding.

"If we didn't have a lot of successes I would probably be doing something else," he said. "I've have been able to obtain funding for our research every year that I have been at Iowa State including the past 20 years from NSF.

"That has made me pretty independent."

It has also made Corbett highly recognizable in his field. A member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1992, Corbett has received just about every award his profession offers. He has received both awards in inorganic chemistry given by the American Chemical Society including the Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry.

He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, has received a Senior Scientist Award from the Humboldt Foundation, and he has two DOE Awards, for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishments and Sustained Research in Materials Chemistry.

This summer, he will add another honor to his resume when he receives the prestigious Spedding Award in rare-earth science research at the 24th Rare Earth Research Conference. During the proceedings, he will present an awards lecture on his many years of reduced rare-earth metal compounds. Rare earth elements on the periodic table include cerium, gadolinium and ytterbium and lie between lanthanum and lutetium.

Corbett is the 11th recipient of the Spedding Award, which is given in recognition of excellence and achievement in research centered on the science and technology of rare earths. Former Iowa State colleague Karl A. Gschneidner was the sixth recipient.

The Spedding Award honors Frank Spedding, a long-time Iowa State chemistry professor and one of the nation's leading atomic scientists. Spedding was a pioneer researcher with rare earths and organized and directed the chemistry phase at Iowa State of the historic Manhattan Project.