NSF names Chemistry Division head

Luis Echegoyen, chemistry department chairman and professor at Clemson University, in South Carolina, has been selected to take the reins of the Chemistry Division at NSF. He will join the division on Aug. 15, filling the position being vacated by Arthur B. Ellis, whose term at NSF expires on June 30. "I am strongly committed to increasing diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines and believe in strengthening international collaborations as a strategy for future growth," Echegoyen tells C&EN. "I am also going to focus on trying to increase the budget support for chemistry at NSF," he adds. No stranger to NSF, he served as a program officer for the Chemical Dynamics Program in the early 1980s and was a member of NSF's Chemistry Advisory Committee in the late 1980s. He holds B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Puerto Rico, R??o Piedras, and held faculty positions at the University of Puerto Rico, the University of Maryland, and the University of Miami prior to assuming his current position in 2002. His research interests include fullerene chemistry, electrochemistry, and supramolecular chemistry.