Academia

Thomas E. Albrecht-Schmitt has been named the first Gregory R. Choppin Chair in Chemistry & Biochemistry at Florida State University. He had been a professor of chemistry at the University of Notre Dame. At Florida State, Albrecht-Schmitt will work to develop the materials chemistry of the heaviest elements in the periodic table, including plutonium and americium.

Marco J. Castaldi has accepted an appointment as an associate professor in the chemical engineering department at the City College of New York (CCNY). While continuing his research in combustion, gasification, and catalytic reaction engineering, he will work to expand both the Earth Engineering Center and the Waste-to-Energy Research & Technology Council at CCNY. Prior to joining CCNY, he was associate professor in Columbia University’s earth and environmental engineering department.

Robert J. Farrauto has retired as research vice president of BASF in Iselin, N.J., and has joined Columbia University’s earth and environmental engineering department as a professor of practice. During his 37-year career at BASF (formerly Engelhard), he supervised teams of researchers that developed and commercialized new diesel oxidation catalysts and catalysts for other emission control applications. At Columbia, he now supervises a research group focused on catalysis for a sustainable environment and conducts research on environmental catalysis and alternative energy.