Garrison Named First Shapiro Professor of Chemistry

5 August 2002 -- Barbara Garrison, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Penn State, has been named the first Shapiro Professor of Chemistry at the University.

The professorship was established by alumnus Edward Shapiro, a 1937 graduate with a degree in chemistry, and his wife, Antoinette Post-Shapiro, a 1937 graduate with a degree in liberal arts. "I am deeply honored to have been selected as the first Shapiro Professor," Garrison said. "Mr. Shapiro's distinguished career in the chemical industry provides an inspiring example for me to follow."

A physical chemist, Garrison is recognized as a pioneer in the use of computer modeling to simulate and understand chemical reactions on the surfaces of materials. "The continuing impact of Barbara's work on surface science and mass spectrometry indicates a remarkable achievement in science," said Andrew Ewing, professor and head of the Department of Chemistry. "In addition to her outstanding research record, she has exhibited tremendous responsibility in leadership positions at Penn State."

Garrison uses computer models to study the effects of fast energy deposition and the resulting chemical reactions at solid surfaces. Her studies of laser ablation are applicable to the optimization of lasers for surgery, the mass spectrometry of biological molecules, and the process of thin-film deposition. Her models of energetic particle bombardment of solids have built a theoretical understanding of the complex events that lead to the ejection of molecules from surfaces. This understanding has contributed to advances in the interpretation of mass-spectrometry data for organic compounds and biological molecules, and to the development of better techniques for doping and depth profiling of semiconductors.

She has received a number of honors in recognition of her research and teaching accomplishments, including a Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship in 1980, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award in 1984, the Peter Mark Award of the American Vacuum Society in 1984, the Penn State Faculty Scholar Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Physical Sciences and Engineering in 1990, and the Francis P. Garvin-John M. Olin Medal from the American Chemical Society in 1994. She was elected as a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Vacuum Society in 1994. She recently has been selected as the Vice-Chair Elect of the Physical Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society.

After joining the Department of Chemistry as an assistant professor in 1979, Garrison was promoted to professor in 1986 and served as head of the department from 1989 to 1994. She earned her doctoral degree in chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley in 1975 and her bachelor's degree in physics at Arizona State University in 1971.

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