1:39 p.m., Jan. 11, 2011----After a nationwide search, Richard B. Chapas has been appointed the next state project director for the Delaware Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or Delaware EPSCoR.

He will succeed Steve Borleske, who has retired after more than eight years of service. Borleske had served as Delaware EPSCoR's state project director since 2002, when Delaware submitted its first successful multimillion-dollar Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) grant to the National Science Foundation.

Through EPSCoR funding, the NSF seeks to assist states in building their research personnel and infrastructure in critical scientific areas. The primary focus of Delaware EPSCoR has been environmental research.

Chapas has wide-ranging professional experience working with academic, industrial, government and nongovernmental organizations, including Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly Clark, and Rayonier. He is currently an adjunct professor in the University of Delaware's Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics.

In 2001, he launched Chapas and Associates of Elkton, Md., a consulting firm that assists start-up companies, large corporations and universities in successfully developing and introducing new products, technologies and businesses.

From 2004-2009, Chapas was also director of industrial collaborations and senior market manager in the Richland, Wash., and Aberdeen, Md., offices of Battelle, a nonprofit research and development organization.

“At Battelle, I was responsible for developing viable technologies and partnerships with industry to commercialize these technologies and assess their environmental impact,” Chapas said. “My experience there involved sustainable development of new products and processes -- analyzing the life cycles of new products, their environmental impacts and their regulatory conformance.”

While working at Battelle, Chapas participated in the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development, serving on the executive committee and developing projects for bio-fuels and byproduct synergy. He also developed a research plan and advisory board for the Industrial Technology Program at the U.S. Department of Energy to help energy-intensive industries reduce their energy use.

“Rich has outstanding experience in leading diverse teams to obtain the necessary funding and resources to achieve important scientific and technological goals, including many related to the environment, energy and sustainable development,” said Donald L. Sparks, a lead principal investigator on both of Delaware's EPSCoR-RII grants and director of the Delaware Environmental Institute. “His experience is a good fit with Delaware EPSCoR's current emphasis on environmental sustainability and economic development, and we look forward to a productive future for the program under his leadership.”

“I am eager to start working with Delaware EPSCoR and its partner institutions at UD, Delaware State University, Wesley College, and Delaware Tech,” said Chapas, who will begin his new position on Jan. 17. “The cohesiveness of the EPSCoR team here and the relationships with state government and business leaders that have already been established should enable me to hit the ground running.”

Chapas holds a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois, in Champaign, Ill., and a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.

He has also served on the boards of the Industrial Research Institute, the Council for Chemical Research, the Center for Sustainable Enterprise at the University of North Carolina, and the Boys and Girls Club and is a member of the Base of the Pyramid Initiative and Learning Lab at Cornell University's Center for Global Sustainable Enterprise.

Article by Beth Chajes