Eric W. Kaler
Encyclopedia
Eric W. Kaler is the 16th president of the University of Minnesota
, succeeding Robert Bruininks
on July 1, 2011. President Kaler was inaugurated on September 22, 2011. [1] Before coming to Minnesota, Kaler served since 2007 as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs and vice president for Brookhaven affairs at Stony Brook University, New York. In the later role he oversaw interactions with Brookhaven National Laboratory, which Stony Brook University co-manages with Battelle Memorial Institute
.
and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering (1982) from the University of Minnesota under the direction of H. T. Davis and L. E. Scriven. He was an assistant professor (1982–87) and associate professor (1987–89) of chemical engineering at the University of Washington
in Seattle. He joined the chemical engineering faculty of the University of Delaware
in 1989 and was promoted to professor in 1991. He was named the Elizabeth Inez Kelley professor of chemical engineering in 1998, and was chair of the chemical engineering department from 1996 to 2000. He served as dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Delaware from 2000 to 2007. He was a visiting professor at the University of Graz
in 1995.
, which are characterized by changes of composition or density over length scales comparable to molecular dimensions. Examples are liquid crystals, microemulsions and micelles, some polymeric solutions, vesicles, emulsions, and protein solutions. He has supervised 37 Ph.D. students and numerous postdoctoral researchers, and has served as a consultant to numerous industrial laboratories and legal firms. Kaler is coeditor of the book Giant Micelles and is author or coauthor of more than 200 papers. He holds 10 U.S. patents.
(ACS) Award in Colloid or Surface Chemistry in 1998. He is a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and the ACS. He has served in a variety of positions in several professional societies, including the leadership ladder in the ACS Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry, of which he was chair in 2006. He was cochair of both the 1997 and 2007 Colloid Symposia, held at the University of Delaware. He has chaired or cochaired three Gordon Research Conferences
. Kaler was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering
in 2010.
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, succeeding Robert Bruininks
Robert Bruininks
Robert H. Bruininks is the former President of the University of Minnesota. He was named president on November 8, 2002 after briefly serving as the interim president. He has been employed by the University of Minnesota since 1968. He is the 15th full time president in the history of the...
on July 1, 2011. President Kaler was inaugurated on September 22, 2011. [1] Before coming to Minnesota, Kaler served since 2007 as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs and vice president for Brookhaven affairs at Stony Brook University, New York. In the later role he oversaw interactions with Brookhaven National Laboratory, which Stony Brook University co-manages with Battelle Memorial Institute
Battelle Memorial Institute
Battelle Memorial Institute is a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Battelle is a charitable trust organized as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of Ohio and is exempt from taxation under Section 501 of the...
.
Career highlights
Kaler received his B.S. (1978) from California Institute of TechnologyCalifornia Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering (1982) from the University of Minnesota under the direction of H. T. Davis and L. E. Scriven. He was an assistant professor (1982–87) and associate professor (1987–89) of chemical engineering at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle. He joined the chemical engineering faculty of the University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
in 1989 and was promoted to professor in 1991. He was named the Elizabeth Inez Kelley professor of chemical engineering in 1998, and was chair of the chemical engineering department from 1996 to 2000. He served as dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Delaware from 2000 to 2007. He was a visiting professor at the University of Graz
University of Graz
The University of Graz , a university located in Graz, Austria, is the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria....
in 1995.
Research and publications
Kaler’s research interests are in surfactant and colloid science, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, and materials synthesis. His work has focused on complex fluidsComplex fluids
Complex fluids are binary mixtures that have a coexistence between two phases: solid–liquid , solid–gas , liquid–gas and liquid–liquid . They exhibit unusual mechanical responses to applied stress or strain due to the geometrical constraints that the phase coexistence imposes...
, which are characterized by changes of composition or density over length scales comparable to molecular dimensions. Examples are liquid crystals, microemulsions and micelles, some polymeric solutions, vesicles, emulsions, and protein solutions. He has supervised 37 Ph.D. students and numerous postdoctoral researchers, and has served as a consultant to numerous industrial laboratories and legal firms. Kaler is coeditor of the book Giant Micelles and is author or coauthor of more than 200 papers. He holds 10 U.S. patents.
Awards and activities
Kaler received one of the first Presidential Young Investigator Awards from the National Science Foundation in 1984 and has received numerous awards for his research, including the American Chemical SocietyAmerican Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
(ACS) Award in Colloid or Surface Chemistry in 1998. He is a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
and the ACS. He has served in a variety of positions in several professional societies, including the leadership ladder in the ACS Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry, of which he was chair in 2006. He was cochair of both the 1997 and 2007 Colloid Symposia, held at the University of Delaware. He has chaired or cochaired three Gordon Research Conferences
Gordon Research Conferences
Gordon Research Conferences are international scientific conferences organized by a non-profit organization of the same name. The conference topics cover frontier research in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences, and their related technologies. The conferences have been held since...
. Kaler was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
in 2010.
External links
- Eric W. Kaler biography http://www1.umn.edu/president/about/biography/index.html
- Giant Micelles http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9780849373084