John F. Rabolt, chairperson of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been appointed Karl W. and Renate Böer Professor of Materials Science and Engineering.

The appointment was effective Sept. 1, and in November, Rabolt delivered the inaugural Böer lecture, "Advanced Research Along the Knowledge Continuum: Creation, Integration and Transfer."

His research interests are organic thin films, surface-directed assembly of liquid crystals, polymer surfaces and interfaces, hybrid organic/inorganic polymers, nanostructues and spectroscopy of organic materials and polymers.

Before joining the UD faculty in 1996, Rabolt worked at the IBM Almaden Research Center from 1977-1996. He was co-director of the National Science Foundation Center on Polymer Interfaces and Macromolecular Assemblies, a cooperative effort of Stanford University, IBM and the University of California at Davis, from 1994-1996.

Rabolt was the first scientist to receive four Coblenz Society awards for outstanding research in the field of vibrational spectroscopy--the Coblenz Award in 1985, the Williams-Wright Award in 1990, the Ellis R. Lippincott Award in 1993 and the A.E. Michelson Award in 1999. A graduate of the State University of New York, Rabolt received his doctorate from Southern Illinois University.

Karl W. Böer is a distinguished solar scientist and the first director of UD's Institute of Energy Conversion. Renate Böer, who has a doctorate in international trade from the University of Cologne in Germany, formerly served as director of trade finance and acting deputy assistant secretary for trade information and analysis for the U.S. Department of Commerce.

--Sue Moncure