Dean announces Jeffrey Bolin as Associate Dean for Research

From Dean Jeffrey S. Vitter:

I am very pleased to announce that Professor Jeffrey Bolin of the Department of Biological Sciences will assume the role of Associate Dean for Research in the College of Science, effective January 3, 2005. He is replacing Prof. Jon Harbor, who will assume duties as Head of the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

As Associate Dean for Research, Jeff will primarily be responsible for overseeing and managing the College's efforts in the areas of promoting entrepreneurship, fostering and facilitating research initiatives, interfacing with Discovery Park and the Vice Provost for Research, and facilities planning.

Jeff received his B.S. in Biology with highest distinction from Purdue in 1974 and was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor for achievements as a scholar and athlete. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California San Diego in 1976 and 1982, respectively. He came to the Department of Biological Sciences as a postdoctoral research associate in 1982, and became an Assistant Professor in the department in 1986. He was promoted to the rank of Professor in 1999.

He was the Chairperson of the Markey Center for Structural Biology from 1994-2001 and has served as the Scientific Director of the Purdue Cancer Center's Macromolecular Crystallography Resource since 1998. He is also the Director of an Institutional Graduate Training Program in Molecular Biophysics supported by the National Institutes of Health. In 2003 he was appointed by President Jischke to serve as Faculty Athletic Representative to the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA.

He holds the existing records at Purdue for the indoor long-jump (7.91 meters), set in 1972, and the outdoor long-jump (7.98 meters), set in 1974.

Jeff's research is in structural biology, studying relationships between the three-dimensional structures of proteins and their functions at atomic resolution through the application of X-ray crystallography in combination with other biophysical and biochemical methods. One project targets enzymes involved in the biodegradation of aromatic compounds, a process that has potential applications in the bioremediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other deleterious compounds of health and environmental significance.

He is a member of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, the American Chemical Society, the American Crystallographic Association, the International Union of Crystallography, and Phi Beta Kappa. He has served on a number of scientific advisory committees, and on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry.

December 13, 2004