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	300 Steele Building CB# 3504 UNC-Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3504 email: fys@unc.edu phone: (919)843-7773

Chemistry

Tomas Baer received his PhD at Cornell University in 1969, and joined the UNC faculty in 1970. Before deciding on a science career, he toyed with becoming an anthropologist, a musician, a philosopher, and a doctor. His research at UNC on the interaction of light with molecules has permitted him to spend over 3 years in France on various sabbatical visits. He believes that science and art are closely related and require similar creative efforts. His hobbies are multi-day hiking treks, running, and music (singing and French Horn playing). Baer’s idea of the perfect week would be a long hike in the French Alps talking
science with a congenial colleague, and ending each day with a good meal and a bottle of wine.

Malcolm Forbes (no bio on file)

Gary Glish obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1980 from Purdue University, after realizing that, at 180 cm tall, he was not going to make it as a power forward in the NBA. He spent 12 years as a research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory before exercising his free agent status to sign with Carolina. He teaches Analytical Chemistry and his research touches on a variety of areas including biological, environmental, and materials chemistry. When not involved in chemistry teaching or research, he might be found playing point guard in the WNBA (Woolen Noontime Basketball Association), playing soccer or tennis, or biking. He also likes to bake (and eat), which is why he needs to exercise a lot.

John Papanikolas received his B.A. from Bowdoin College and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado-Boulder. His research focuses on the characterization of complex chemical systems (e.g., nanoscale materials, inorganic coordination complexes, and interfacial environments) using femtosecond laser spectroscopy to explore the relationship between the structure and function of a material at a molecular level.

Ed Samulski, Cary Boshamer Professor of Chemistry, has been fascinated by the beauty of liquid crystals since his Ph.D. research at Princeton in the late 1960's. Occasionally convinced he should have been a musician or a painter (but not willing to trade places with a struggling artist!), Samulski looks at how molecular oganization influences optical properties and flow of liquids, and ultimately how such organization manifests itself in the strength of materials.

Mark Schoenfisch, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, received B.A.'s in Chemistry and Germanic Languages and Literature from the University of Kansas. He attended the University of Arizona for graduate school (Ph.D. in Chemistry) and completed post-doctoral research at the University of Michigan. The focus of his research group is aimed at improving the tissue-compatibility of in vivo glucose biosensors. In his free time he enjoys running, hiking, and playing tennis. He is faculty advisor for the UNC-CH Track Club and has recently run his first marathon (Chicago 2002, 3:41).

Holden Thorpe was born in Fayetteville in 1964 and got a B.S. in Chemistry from UNC in 1986. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in 1989 and joined the UNC faculty in 1993. He has received the Ruth and Philip Hettleman Prize and the Tanner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. He has published over 90 peer-reviewed scientific papers. In 1996, he founded, in collaboration with UNC, a biotechnology company called Xanthon, Inc. in the Research Triangle Park. Xanthon has raised $25 million in venture capital and now has 35 employees and occupies 20,000 square feet of laboratory space. In addition to his scientific efforts, Thorpe was a driving force in the expansion of the Cape Fear Regional Theatre in Fayetteville, where he has produced four original musicals, including 1998's smash hit, Polyester: the 70's Musical.