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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.
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