News Release

UNC professor named Jefferson Science
Fellow at State Department ceremony

CHAPEL HILL -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice introduced Dr. Edward T. Samulski as a new Jefferson Science Fellow, chosen to offer science counsel to the U.S. Department of State, at a Tuesday (May 24) afternoon ceremony held in the State Department’s Benjamin Franklin Room.

Samulski, Cary C. Boshamer professor of chemistry in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s College of Arts and Sciences, is one of five tenured professors nationwide to receive the prestigious State Department honor.

Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell established the program in October 2003 to continue elevating the role of science and technology in U.S. foreign policy. The program brings renowned science professors from American universities to the State Department for one-year assignments, followed by a five-year consultancy after they return to their academic careers.

The Jefferson Fellows are chosen through a competition administered by the National Academy of Sciences and the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State. They are selected for their scientific achievements, articulation and communication skills, abilities to accurately describe scientific topics for non-scientific audiences and their interest in science and engineering policy.

“The Jefferson Fellowship honors one of our nation’s most brilliant and innovative presidents, and the fellowship program is designed to bring such people to help our government with the challenges of our society and our science,” said Dr. Bruce Carney, senior associate dean for the sciences and the Samuel Baron distinguished professor of physics and astronomy at UNC.
“Ed Samulski is being honored above many other extremely talented faculty from across the nation. The honor is well-deserved, and I have no doubt that his service will be of great value to all of us,” he added.

The salary and benefits of each Jefferson Fellow are being paid by the academic institution at which the tenured appointment is held. Each fellow also will receive a stipend of $50,000 from funding provided by the MacArthur Foundation and the Carnegie Corp. The Jefferson Fellows will travel occasionally as a part of their tenure, and stipends will be available for that purpose.

“This new program is superbly designed to enable science and policy to interface,” said Samulski. “Its creators have done a brilliant job of ensuring that nonpartisan, objective information can be provided and integrated smoothly into policy decisions.
“I’m also grateful for how supportive the College (of Arts and Sciences) and Chancellor (James Moeser) have been,” he added.

He added that he was looking forward to the challenge of working in areas with which he was not as familiar. “I think they are interested in having people who can look at a wide range of scientific subjects analytically and anticipate the implications for policy. This kind of problem solving is very appealing to me.

“Science is a universal language, with the capacity to unite individuals and nations around the globe. Its importance can only increase over the coming decades as the world shrinks and the playing field levels. To be able to contribute to this future is an honor for me.”

Samulski has been a member of the UNC faculty since January 1988 and was chairman of the chemistry department from 1995-2000. He came to the university from the University of Connecticut, where he had taught since 1972.

His major research interests are the structure and dynamics soft materials such as liquid crystals and elastic polymers. In 2004, Samulski and his students announced that they had found unequivocal evidence of a biaxial nematic liquid crystal, a scientific achievement that had eluded researchers for more than 30 years.

He is co-director of the multi-university NASA Institute on Biologically Inspired Materials, a NASA-funded consortium of research institutions that is working to create new materials that might revolutionize civil aviation and space travel. Samulski’s NASA research has translated into his teaching, too: He offers a first-year seminar for UNC undergraduates titled “You Don’t Have to Be a Rocket Scientist.”

Among his honors is a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1995; this honor recognizes unusually distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment.
He received his bachelor of science degree from Clemson University and his doctorate from Princeton University.

The yearlong appointment begins Aug. 15.

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Photo link: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/faculty/samulski_ed.jpg

UNC College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339 or deereid@unc.edu
UNC News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu
Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary contact: Helen Kim, (202) 647-8725