Former Chemistry Faculty Member Receives Outstanding Mentor Award
Former faculty member Charles U. Pittman, Jr., received the chemistry department’s Outstanding Mentor Award at the conclusion of the keynote address he presented Thursday evening (Oct. 24) as part of 2019 National Chemistry Week at Mississippi State University.
In conjunction with Pittman’s 80th birthday, president of MSU’s Chemistry Graduate Student Association Ketki Eknath Shelar presented Pittman with the Outstanding Mentor Award for his dedication to mentoring chemistry students as well as students from other departments. Shelar said she was honored to present the award to a mentor who has had a “worldwide” effect on the field of chemistry.
“During my two years at MSU, I’ve witnessed Professor Pittman guiding and mentoring graduate students and faculty across departments,” Shelar said. “We are grateful to learn from him.”
Dennis Smith, professor and head of MSU’s chemistry department, said Pittman’s prolific publication record and pioneering production in many areas of chemistry and materials science is “the stuff of legend.”
“Dr. Pittman has devoted his life to science for nearly 60 years,” Smith said. “This symposium is dedicated to him in recognition of his unprecedented achievements in research, his famous rigor and high expectations in training of students and the mentoring of his colleagues.”
Pittman joined the faculty at MSU in 1983 and retired in 2007.
Throughout Pittman’s career, he directed more than 40 Ph.D. students, 25 masters-level students, and 40 postdoctoral fellows. Pittman developed the research area known as metal-containing polymers. He is the co-founder of the Journal of Inorganic and Organic Polymers and Materials and the book series Macromolecules Containing Metal and Metal-Like Elements.
Pittman is a contributing editor for numerous journals and is the coeditor of 18 books. He remains active today with 10 publications this year to date. Pittman boasts over 29,000 citations, with nearly 10,000 citations over the last four years – approximately 10 citations a day.
Born in Rahway, NJ, in 1939, Pittman earned his bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College in chemical engineering in 1961. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Pittman then earned his Ph.D. in 1964 in organic chemistry from Pennsylvania State University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in 1965 with George Olah, winner of the 1994 Chemistry Noble Prize. Olah cited Pittman’s work from in his Nobel Award documents.
During his MSU career, Pittman assisted the private sector with commercial development, aiding the economic growth in Mississippi. He developed three patents on hydroxylamine-based plasma etch debris cleaners which led to more than $100 million a year in business in the semiconductor industry.
Pittman said as a child he “loved collecting snakes, bird nests, coins, stamps, insects, spiders and reading National Geographic.” During his high school years, Pittman said classmates frequently asked for his help in chemistry and physics, prompting him to develop a love for science which produced a six-decade career in chemistry.
An accomplished athlete, during his tenure in the classroom Pittman would offer extra credit for any student able to beat him in a 200 meter race. He continued this offer until he was 62—never giving away points.
At age 80, Pittman maintains his dedication to his craft by continuing active collaborations around the world while also mentoring graduated students and fellows on the MSU campus.
* Biography abridged from: Carraher, Charles E. “Biography of Dr. Charles U. Pittman, Jr.” Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials 20, no. 3 (2010): 421-423.