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Professor William P. Weber, Ph.D., was born 1940 in Washington D.C. After his B.S. (University of Chicago, 1963), he obtained M.A (1965) and Ph.D. (1968) from Harvard University under the tutelage of Professor P.D. Bartlett. He worked for a year as a Research Chemist at the Dow Chemical Company Eastern Research before joining USC as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in 1968. He soon rose through the ranks and became a Full Professor in 1978. HE also served as the Associate Chair (1977-1981) and Chair (1986-1989) of the Chemistry Department. Bill also served as the Executive Associate Director of the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute from 1991 until his recent retirement.

Professor Weber developed a very rigorous, well funded and highly visible research program at USC in the area of organosilicon chemistry, particularly, organosilicon polymers. He is highly prolific with more than 250 peer-reviewed publications in major research journals and close to 90 polymer preprint articles. He holds more than 10 significant patents. HE has also co-authored more than 18 review articles and book chapters. Most notably, his two monographs, Phase Transfer Catalysis in Organic Synthesis (With G. W. Gokel, Springer Verlag, 1977, which has been translated into Japanese and Russian) and Silicon Reagents in Organic Synthesis (Springer Verlag, 1983) are classics in the field. Bill trained a large number of graduate students (40 Ph.Ds), 30 post-docs and many undergraduate researchers.

He is a great teacher inside and outside the classroom. At USC, Bill was a particularly sought after teacher. HE taught both graduate and undergraduate classes with vigor and flair. He used to have a beehive of students assembled to meet with him outside his office at all times.

Professor Weber has served USC with dedication and distinction. He was the president of the Faculty Senate (1984-85) and served on numerous committees for the betterment of USC. HE has been a great mentor not only to students but also to younger colleagues. Professor Weber has received numerous awards and recognitions. He received the coveted USC Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching (1971) early in his career. Other notable awards he received are the Phi Kappa Phi Recognition Award for Scholarly Work (1983), Mortar Board Waward for Excellence in Teaching (1984) and more recently, the Senior Raubenheimer Award from LAS, USC in 2001. His life-long illustrious career at USC is greatly appreciated by students and colleagues alike. Past and present member of the USC community wish Professor Weber the very best in his retirement.