BGSU Olscamp Research Award goes to Anzenbacher

BOWLING GREEN, O.—When Bowling Green State University named Dr. Pavel Anzenbacher, an associate professor of photochemical sciences, the “Outstanding Young Scholar” in 2003, its faith in his potential was well placed. Anzenbacher had been with BGSU for barely three years but had already secured more than $1 million in external grant funding as principal investigator—a remarkable achievement for any faculty member, let alone one so relatively new to his position, noted Dr. Michael Ogawa, a professor and chemistry department chair, in his nomination.

BGSU has again recognized Anzenbacher’s extraordinary productivity by presenting him the Olscamp Research Award, which is given annually to a faculty member who has had outstanding scholarly or creative accomplishments during the last three years. The honor was bestowed at the BGSU Research Conference luncheon Nov. 6, and included $2,000 and a reserved parking spot for a year.

Anzenbacher thanked everyone who helped him get to where he is now and who contribute to his work. He also spoke about the importance of research, saying, “Research is an integral part of what we are doing here at the University. There will be no high-powered education without connecting what goes on in the classroom with practical, hands-on research.

“We are trying to produce members of society who have not just intelligence but also the understanding of how things work—how the world works, how nature works. If you know how things work, then you can make educated decisions. So we hope to create a future generation of people, of society, who are well-rounded, educated and mindful of the planet.”

Ogawa nominated his colleague for the Olscamp Award, describing him as an “internationally recognized supramolecular photochemist who has made creative contributions in such diverse areas as the design of electroluminescent materials and the development of new types of chemical sensors.”

Anzenbacher is also “helping to transform northwest Ohio into a leading force in alternative energy research through his participation in the University of Toledo’s Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization, funded by the state of Ohio,” Ogawa said.

Anzenbacher’s potential was also seen in 2003 by the Sloan Foundation, which gave him an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, a highly competitive national award designed to identify those who show the most promise of making fundamental contributions to the development of new knowledge in the sciences. Many Sloan Fellows have won the Nobel Prize later in their careers.

Anzenbacher’s research group has gone on to receive nearly $6 million in external funding, from such agencies as the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Air Force and the state of Ohio. In the last three years he has been named to the editorial board of the Journal of Supramolecular Chemistry, a leading publication in the field. Also since 2005, Anzenbacher has written 26 peer-reviewed papers that have appeared in prestigious journals, co-written a book chapter and given invited presentations at conferences, and been a co-developer, with other members of his team, of a patent application for an explosives sensor that could be used on large shipping containers.

“This list of achievements could be highlights of an entire career, and it is impressive that these are the products of such a short time period,” Ogawa said. “Pavel Anzenbacher is an extremely creative, productive and serious scholar. His many accomplishments put him at the top of the list of scholars in his field.”

# # #

(Posted November 10, 2008 )