DATE: January 13, 2009

CONTACT: Susan Polowczuk, 864-656-2063
spolowc@clemson.edu

WRITER: Bill Pennington, 864-656-4200
billp@clemson.edu

Bill Pennington Wins Class of 1939 Award for Excellence

CLEMSON — Chemistry professor Bill Pennington has been recognized by his peers and the Class of 1939 as one of Clemson University’s best.

Colleagues and members of the Class of ’39 paid tribute to Pennington in a ceremony in the university’s Carillon Garden. His name will be inscribed on the bell monument there.

The Class of 1939 Award for Excellence, which includes a $5,000 stipend, was established by that class to recognize faculty members for the highest achievement of service to the student body, the university and the community. The recipient also becomes an honorary member of the class.

Pennington’s research is focused on solid-state chemistry and depends heavily on X-ray crystallography, a technique used to probe the structure of matter at the atomic level. Most chemical reactions take place in solution with solvents, such as water, but Pennington is interested in those that occur in the solid state. His research is important in areas such as pharmaceuticals, where detrimental solid-state reactions often limit the effectiveness and shelf life of medicines, and in a “green” approach to chemistry, as solid-state reactions avoid the use of often toxic solvents.

Pennington’s research group also is studying polymers that respond to external changes in their environment by changing color. A possible application of these materials is the development of smart bandages that would change color when the dressing needs to be changed or the wound needs attention.

“The Class of ’39 has done so many wonderful things for Clemson University. It is an amazing privilege to receive this award, and I am so honored to be included with the other honorary members of this great class,” said Pennington.

Pennington received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Hendrix College (1977), and his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas (1983) working in inorganic chemistry. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois, working in the area of solid-state organic chemistry, and spent two years at Molecular Structure Corp. before coming to Clemson in 1987. He established the Molecular Structure Center in the department of chemistry and served as its director until 2004. He is editor of the Journal of Chemical Crystallography and is director of EUREKA!, a Calhoun Honors College summer research program. He received the Award of Excellence for Teaching in the Sciences at Clemson University in 2000, the 2002 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Science Awareness and the 2007 Class of 1940 Bradbury Award for his contributions to the Honors College. Pennington has published more than 250 research papers.

 END