January 15-16, 2004

 

ITEM 122-2001-R0104  Authorization to Confer the Title of Professor Emeritus of Chemistry upon Professor Edwin H. Abbott; Montana State University-Bozeman

 

THAT:   Upon the occasion of the retirement of Professor Edwin H. Abbott from the faculty of Montana State University, the Board of Regents wishes to express its appreciation for his service to the University, the Montana University System, and the People of the State of Montana.

 

EXPLANATION: Dr. Abbott Received his B.S. in Chemistry from Tufts University  He enrolled in the doctoral program in Chemistry at Texas A&M University in February of 1968 and received his Ph.D. in 1969.  After an additional year at Texas A&M as a postdoctoral, he became an Assistant Professor at City University of New York in 1970. In 1972, he became Chair of the Inorganic Division of the City University of New York Doctoral Program in Chemistry.  He rose to Associate Professor in 1973. In 1977, he moved to Montana State University B Bozeman as Professor and Head of the Chemistry Department  He served in that capacity for fourteen years during which time the department enjoyed unprecedented growth.  It raised the funds to acquire state of the art instrumentation for research in chemistry, it quadrupled the size of its doctoral program, it led the Montana State University System in research funding, and became a leading producer of chemistry Ph.D.s in the intermountain west.

In 1988, Dr. Abbott was a Visiting Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1991-1992, he was a Special Employee at the National Science Foundation, directing activities in the Special Projects Office and the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). He continued as a Program Director of the EPSCoR Program until 1977. Since that time, Dr. Abbott has served as a consultant supported by the National Science Foundation advising universities on strategies for strengthening their research and instructional programs. During the past twenty months, his project,  The Centers Development Initiative  has participated in activities resulting in more than $55 million in Federal funding for cutting edge research centers in a wide variety of States.

He is the recipient of numerous research grants, and has experience in various areas, including: nuclear magnetic resonance; the identification of environmental pollutants; bioinorganic chemistry; and the structural and electronic properties of metal cluster compounds. He served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Organometallic Chemistry Section of the New York Academy of the Sciences. He has participated on numerous panels and committees for the National Science Foundation; U.S. Department of Energy; and the New York Academy of Sciences.  Edwin Abbott is a past Editor of the Journal of Coordination Chemistry. In 1999 and 2001, he was named U.S. Department of Energy Senior Fellow. He has authored or co-authored more than 60 publications.

For these and other contributions, The Board of Regents of Higher Education is pleased to confer on Dr. Edwin H. Abbott the rank of Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Montana State University, and wishes him well for many years in the future