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An internationally renowned chemist at Brookhaven National Lab in New York has been selected as the new director for USC’s NanoCenter.
The selection of Thomas Vogt, who will also join the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry as a tenured professor, was announced by Harris Pastides, USC’s vice president for research and health sciences.
“Dr. Vogt represents the caliber of researcher critical to the continued growth and maturation of our nanotechnology program here at USC,” Pastides said. “His predecessor, Richard Adams, is to be congratulated for his efforts to establish the NanoCenter.
“Now, under Vogt’s leadership, we are eager to see the NanoCenter develop into the nationally recognized center that will bring top researchers to USC and contribute directly to the economic growth of the Midlands and the state.”
Established in 2001, USC’s NanoCenter has become a hub for USC researchers focused on nanoscale science and engineering, which, along with Next Energy, environmental sciences, and biomedical science, has been identified as a research priority for University research and funding.
Vogt comes to USC with a strong research background in chemistry and physics. He also has conducted research on hydrogen storage materials, which might have practical application in renewable hydrogen fuel cells and batteries.
He will join a team of more than 40 scientists at USC involved in nanoscience research, including Richard Webb, the first scientist to be hired under the S.C. Research Centers of Economic Excellence program.
“The funding South Carolina provides the USC NanoCenter is designed to make it competitive for the best researchers, professors, and students,” said Bobby Harrell, speaker of the S.C. House of Representatives. “The appointment of someone as outstanding as Dr. Vogt shows that we are, indeed, competing for the very best.”
Vogt holds two U.S. patents and has two pending patent applications. His expertise is in crystallography and structural and synthetic chemistry, and his technical expertise is in diffraction techniques using X-rays and neutrons.
Vogt joined Brookhaven National Lab in 1992 and has helped plan Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials, scheduled to begin operation in 2007.
He earned his doctoral degree in chemistry from the Eberhard-Karls Universität in Germany and is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science Materials Research Society, and the Electrochemical Society.
Columbia Mayor Bob Coble hailed Vogt’s appointment as another example of the important role USC plays in the growth of the city.
“This exciting news again highlights the mutual benefits produced by the strong, strategic partnership our city and the university share,” Coble said. “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Vogt and look forward to the contributions his presence will make to the quality of life, education and research available here.”
David Pond will continue as managing director of USC’s NanoCenter and will be the center’s acting director beginning Aug. 1 until Vogt’s arrival later in the fall semester.
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