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HIGHLIGHTS
from around COSAM
Worley Named Fellow of National
Academy of Inventors
Dave Worley, professor emeritus in the
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was
inducted as a fellow of the National Academy of
Inventors during the NAI annual conference at the
California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
society through commercialization. The work of
Drs. Worley and Tatarchuk are examples of meeting
this expectation. They should be congratulated on
their achievements as inventors and entrepreneurs,”
Weete added.
Worley’s research is leading to safer drinking water
in developing nations through advanced, longerlasting water filters. The filters contain polystyrene
beads that hold oxidative chlorine or bromine
atoms, germ-killing agents, for long periods of
time and can be easily refurbished – the results of
Worley’s N-halamine chemistry. He received 40
patents in the course of discovering this process,
which has been commercialized by Seattle-based
HaloSource Inc. His research also involves work
to bridge the gap between high-vacuum surface
science and industrial catalytic chemistry. The work
has led to many publications in physical chemistry
and surface science journals.
The naming of Worley and Tatarchuk brings the
total number of NAI fellows to 414, representing
more than 150 research universities and
governmental and nonprofit research institutions.
The Auburn recipients are among only 170
national awardees this year; they were nominated
by their peers for outstanding contributions to
innovation in areas such as patents and licensing,
innovative discovery and technology, significant
impact on society, and support and enhancement
of innovation. Fellows are elected by a 17-member
selection committee.
Auburn University’s Bruce Tatarchuk, a chemical
engineering professor in the Samuel Ginn College
of Engineering, was also named a fellow of the
National Academy of Inventors during the annual
conference.
“Drs. Worley and Tatarchuk join a very prestigious
group of innovators that includes Nobel Laureates
and science medal winners as new fellows in the
National Academy of Inventors,” said John Weete,
executive director of the Auburn Research and
Technology Foundation and member of the NAI
board of directors.
“There is an increasing expectation at the federal
level that discoveries in science and engineering
should promote economic development and benefit
6
Burchett Receives Excellence in
Advising Award
Journey/Fall: 2015
Worley earned a bacheloris in chemistry from
Auburn in 1964 and a doctorate in chemistry from
the University of Texas at Austin in 1969. He
returned to Auburn as a faculty member in 1974.
In 2006, he won Auburn’s Creative Research and
Scholarship Award.
“Professors Worley and Tatarchuk exemplify the
high level of scientific excellence and creativity
among the Auburn faculty, and they are recognized
leaders both in their fields of research and within
the university,” said Jan Dowdle Thornton, director
of Auburn University’s Office of Technology
Transfer.
“It’s noteworthy that both have been influential
teachers and mentors to students and postdoctoral
fellows over the years, while achieving great success
in their research and commercializing their results.”
The National Academic Advising Association
selected Anna Burchett for the 2015 Region
4: Excellence in Advising award. The award is
presented to individuals who have demonstrated
qualities associated with outstanding academic
advising of students. Burchett has been an academic
advisor in COSAM since May 2013. She advises
COSAM students of all majors and classifications.
Established in 1983, the NACADA Annual
Awards Program for Academic Advising honors
individuals and institutions making significant
contributions to the improvement of academic
advising. NACADA is a representative and
advocate of academic advising and those providing
the service to higher education.