Ballato named interim vice president for research at Clemson

Published: June 8, 2010

John Ballato image by: Clemson University

CLEMSON — John Ballato, interim associate vice president for research and economic development and professor of materials science and engineering at Clemson University, will serve as interim vice president for research following the June 30 retirement of Vice President for Research and Economic Development Chris Przirembel, President James. F. Barker announced Tuesday. Ballato will serve July 1-Aug. 31.

Barker announced May 26 that Gerald Sonnenfeld, vice president for research at Binghamton University, State University of New York, will become Clemson's vice president for research beginning Sept 1. John Kelly, vice president for Public Service and Agriculture, will assume responsibility for the university's economic development mission.  

“John Ballato’s credentials as a highly productive researcher, center director and associate vice president speak for themselves, but equally important are his professionalism, integrity and commitment to Clemson,” Barker said. “I am confident he will do an excellent job managing research activities and operations and will work closely with Dr. Przirembel and Dr. Sonnenfeld to ensure a smooth transition.”

A Fellow of the American Ceramics Society, Ballato is director of the Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET) at Clemson and has been principal investigator for sponsored programs, gifts and contracts valued at more than $35 million. He joined the Clemson faculty in 1997 after receiving his doctorate in Ceramic and Materials Engineering from Rutgers University, where he also received his bachelor's degree in Ceramic Science and Engineering in 1993.

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