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NEWS RELEASE

06-16-03

Contacts:
Edward Yeung, Chemistry, (515) 294-8062
Dave Gieseke, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Public Relations,
(515) 294-7742, dgieseke@iastate.edu

IOWA STATE'S EDWARD YEUNG NAMED WRIGHT CHAIR

AMES, Iowa -- Edward Yeung, distinguished professor of liberal arts and sciences and professor of chemistry, has been named the first recipient of the Robert Allen Wright Chair at Iowa State University. Dr. Yeung was appointed by Iowa State University President Gregory Geoffroy.

The Robert Allen Wright Chair has been established from the Robert Allen Wright Endowment for Excellence. The $1 million bequest was made through the ISU Foundation for the purpose of building and enhancing the general excellence of academic programs at Iowa State University. The appointment recognizes Yeung's teaching and scholarly endeavors in Iowa State's Department of Chemistry.

Yeung's research interests span both spectroscopy and chromatography. He has published in areas such as nonlinear spectroscopy, laser-based detectors for liquid chromatography, capillary electophoresis, trace gas monitoring, single-cell and single-molecule analysis, DNA sequencing, and data treatment procedures in chemical measurements.

A faculty member at Iowa State since 1972, Yeung has received R&D 100 Awards, dubbed the "Oscars" of applied science, in 1989, 1991, 1997 and 2001. He was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1992.

He is the recipient of numerous other honors including the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Analytical Chemistry Award in Chemical Instrumentation in 1987, the Lester W. Strock Award in 1990, the Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award in 1993, the L.S. Palmer Award in 1994, the ACS Fisher Award in Analytical Chemistry in 1994, the Frederick Conference on Capillary Electrophoresis Award in 1997, the Eastern Analytical Symposium Award in 1998, the ACS Award in Chromatography in 2002, and the International Prize of the Belgian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2002.

In November 2003, Yeung will be awarded the 2003 Eastern Analytical Symposium, Inc., (EAS) Award for Achievements in Separation Science. The award is sponsored by Waters Corp. Yeung will be honored during a symposium at the EAS meeting Nov. 17-20, 2003, in Somerset, N.J.

Yeung received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Cornell (N.Y.) University and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley.

About Robert Allen Wright
Wright was a member of the Iowa State University class of 1913 and was an ISU Foundation governor, a member of the ISU Foundation's Order of the Knoll and was named Cy's favorite alum in 1976. He served as a director of Living History Farms and the Iowa Taxpayers Association.

Wright, who died in 1984, and his wife Estyl (deceased in 1985), established the Robert Allen Wright Endowment for Excellence through a $1 million bequest.

About Iowa State University's Department of Chemistry
The Department of Chemistry is ranked fifth in analytical chemistry among graduate programs nationwide in the latest rankings by U.S. News and World Report. The department is also the top-ranked department at Iowa State, according to the National Research Council, and among the top 15 percent of Ph.D.-granting departments nationwide.

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