Professor Paul Kelter will officially become a Fellow of the AAAS on February 19, 2005 in Washington, D.C. during the AAAS Fellows Forum. He is being honored for "energetic and effective leadership in chemical education, both at the college and high school levels, for excellence in teaching, and for daring to believe that all students can learn."
Election as a Fellow of the AAAS, a distinction that began in 1874 and that is acknowledged with a certificate and a rosette, is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers. Nominations are normally made by three current Fellows, two from institutions other than the candidate's, and are reviewed by the steering groups of the Association's sections and by the AAAS Council. About 30 members are elected to the rank of Fellow in the Chemistry Section each year. Professor Kelter joins Peter Beak, Paul Bohn, Bob Coates, Scott Denmark, Bob Gennis, Walter Klemperer, Nancy Makri, Jeffrey Moore, Ken Suslick, Jonathan Sweedler, and Steve Zimmerman as current UIUC faculty members who are Fellows of the AAAS in the Chemistry section. Paul Lauterbur is a Fellow of the Neuroscience section; and John Katzenellenbogen and Steve Sligar are Fellows of the Biological Sciences section. Among our emeritus professors, Ted Brown, Dave Curtin, Gil Haight, Jiri Jonas, Nelson Leonard, Ken Rinehart, Fred Wall, and Peter Yankwich are AAAS Fellows as well.
Professor Kelter received his B.S. from the City College of the City University of New York in 1976 and was awarded a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry in 1980 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Kelter has had a long and varied career in chemical education before coming to the University of Illinois (2003) as Professor and Director of the General Chemistry Division. He worked as an Educational Specialist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was on the faculty of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and, most recently, held the M. F. Rourk Chair in Chemistry and Chemical Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Kelter has previously been the recipient of many teaching awards:
- University of Illinois Distinguished Teacher/Scholar (2004)
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln Academy of Distinguished Teachers (1999)
- University of Nebraska Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award (1999)
- Distinguished Teaching Award, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Nebraska (1999)
- Recipient of the "Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award," Univ. of Nebr. Student Assoc. (1997)
- Inaugural Recipient of "Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award," U of Nebr. Student Assoc. (1996)
- Distinguished Teacher Award, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (1990)
- Regional Award for Excellence in Science Education, Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers (1990)
He is also the author of several chemistry textbooks.
Founded in 1848 to represent all disciplines of science, AAAS is the world's largest scientific society.