Alfred University hosts 2025 Scholes Memorial Lecture

Efstratios I. Kamitsos delivers the Scholes Memorial Lecture on Thursday, April 3.

Efstratios I. Kamitsos, researcher and former director of the Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute (TPCI), National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece, delivered the annual Samuel L. Scholes Sr. Memorial Lecture at Alfred University, on Thursday, April 3, in Holmes Auditorium, Harder Hall.

In his lecture, "Structure and Ion Dynamics in Melt-Quenched and Ion-Exchanged Glasses," Kamitsos discussed the structure and ion dynamics in metal ion containing borate and silicate glasses, and demonstrated how the field strength of the metal ions dictates the chemical equilibria controlling the local network structure and the formation of ion sites in melt-quenched and ion-exchanged glasses.

The Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute is one of four research institutes comprising the National Hellenic Research Foundation, which was founded in 1958 and is a non-profit Research Foundation supervised by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs in Greece. The TPCI was established in 1979 and its research activities involve selected fields of chemistry, physics and materials science, aiming at the advancement of science and technology in search of novel materials with advanced functional characteristics and potentially suitable for innovative technological applications.

The primary focus of Kamitsos' research is materials physical chemistry, including synthesis, structure and dynamics of materials ranging from low-dimensional charge transfer compounds to glassy electrolytes, and the engineering of electrical and optical functionalities by external stimuli like laser irradiation, thermal-poling and ion-exchange.

Kamitsos joined the TPCI of the National Hellenic Research Foundation in 1985 and was a researcher from 1985-2022. He served four terms as director of the Institute (1997-2020) and was director and Chairman of the Board of the NHRF from March 2012 to October 2013. He has served on numerous national and international scientific committees, has been visiting researcher at many universities in Europe and the United States, and has established and directed major research programs in spectroscopy and materials science with substantial funding from national and European competitive programs.

He has received many awards and distinctions, including the Potter Prize in Chemistry for the best Ph.D. thesis, Brown University (1984); the 2021 Alfred R. Cooper Award by the American Ceramic Society (ACerS); and the Award for Lifelong Achievements in Chemistry by the Association of Greek Chemists (2024). Kamitsos was designated the Honoree of the 10^th International Conference on Borate Glasses, Crystals and Melts, held in Corning, NY, in 2023.

Prior to Kamitsos delivering his lecture, Gabby Gaustad '04, dean of the Inamori School of Engineering, presented sophomore Jordan Anlee with the Scholes Scholar Award, which is given to the engineering major who earns the highest GPA during their first year of studies. Anlee is a double-major in glass engineering science/mechanical engineering from Henrietta, NY, and is a member of the swimming and diving and track and field teams at Alfred.

Efstratios I. Kamitsos (center) received the Scholes Lecture Award and sophomore glass science engineering/mechanical engineering dual major Jordan Anlee (second from right) the Scholes Scholar Award following the Scholes Memorial Lecture Thursday, April 3. They are shown with Mark Zupan, Alfred University president (left), Kathleen Richardson '82, MS '88, PhD '92, Alfred University trustee and Pegasus Professor of Optics and Materials Science in CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida (second from left), and Gabrielle Gaustad '04, dean of the Inamori School of Engineering and vice president for Statutory Affairs (right).

The Scholes Lecture Series was established in 1982 by alumni of Alfred University to honor the late Samuel R. Scholes, who in 1932 established the first glass science program in the United States at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He served as dean, associate dean, head of the Department of Glass Technology, and professor of glass science.