Ellis named to NSF post

Arthur B. Ellis, a distinguished longtime member of the chemistry faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has been named to head the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation.

Ellis, who serves as the Meloche-Bascom Professor of Chemistry, will assume his new position in July and will take a two-year leave of absence from the university.

Ellis joined the UW–Madison chemistry faculty in the College of Letters and Science as an assistant professor in 1977.

“This NSF position provides an opportunity to work on issues of importance to the national chemistry community,” Ellis says. “My principal goals will be to enhance support for basic research and to promote interdisciplinary research opportunities and the integration of research and education.”

As head of one of the five divisions that make up the Math and Physical Sciences Directorate at NSF, Ellis will oversee a key element of the federal agency’s infrastructure in support of basic science, especially in the area of chemistry and its subdisciplines.

NSF is the nation’s leading funder of basic research in the sciences, mathematics and engineering and has an annual budget of more than $4 billion, most of which is awarded on a competitive basis to scientists and educators at U.S. universities and other research institutions.

An inorganic chemist who trained at Caltech and MIT, Ellis is known widely for his research in the area of sensors and the materials of which they are made. He has published more than 150 scientific papers and holds seven patents.

Ellis has also been an energetic and innovative leader in the area of science education. In addition to administrative and professional roles in support of improving science education, he is known for his creativity in quickly turning cutting-edge science into superbly documented kits. For example, in 1987 when the first low-temperature superconductors were developed, Ellis assembled a low-cost kit that enabled thousands of school children to witness first-hand the phenomenon of levitating magnets. He recently was among those named as recipients of NSF Director’s Awards for Distinguished Teaching Scholars.

“Art Ellis will be an excellent leader for chemistry research at the National Science Foundation,” says UW–Madison Letters and Science Dean Phil Certain. “Throughout his career, he has been committed to graduate education and to bringing cutting-edge research into the undergraduate classroom and to the general public. His background will enable him to put the nation’s chemistry research efforts into a broad educational and public context.”

Ellis will maintain his connection to Wisconsin and plans to continue his research group here, although he will no longer serve as a principal investigator on any NSF-funded projects.

In the course of his career at UW–Madison, Ellis has received numerous awards and honors, including a Sloan Research Fellowship, an H.I Romnes Research Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship and a UW–Madison Distinguished Teaching Award.

Ellis credited part of his success to the willingness of the university to let him experiment, not only in the lab but in the classroom as well.

“This has been a great place to have a career as a faculty member. It’s a very welcoming and nurturing environment and it is very supportive of experimentation. It’s a special place.”