The Department of Chemistry and the College of Natural Sciences will be saying farewell to Professor Alan Campion after a remarkable 40 years of dedicated teaching, service, and research at UT Austin. After completing his graduate studies at UCLA and postdoctoral work at UC Berkeley, Alan came to UT as a Professor in 1979 and has been in our department ever since. Alan quickly rose up the ranks to Full Professor and served as Department Chair in 1991. Alan's research in physical chemistry has been in the specific area of spectroscopy and microscopy; he is widely known for his work on Raman spectroscopy of surfaces. He has published over 130 papers, given over 100 invited lectures, and coauthored a popular physical chemistry textbook.
Alan has always had a passion for teaching. He created a number of new courses for our department including an engaging introduction to chemistry for non-majors as well as an honors general chemistry course. He was also instrumental in modernizing our physical chemistry laboratory. While his teaching excellence was recognized in many ways he received the two highest teaching honors on campus. In 1989, he received the Jean Holloway Award, a student selected award that is given to one UT faculty member each year. In 1999, Alan was elected to the University's Academy of Distinguished Teachers. In recognition of his outstanding research, Alan was named the Dow Chemical Company Professor of Chemistry in 1993. In his teaching and research, Alan is known by his students and colleagues for thinking deeply about problems and getting to the heart of them so they can be explained in a simple way.
Alan will be missed in the halls of Welch. He could regularly be found in "Campion Corner" always eager to talk science or describe the latest adventures of his children. We wish Alan all the best in his retirement, and hope to see him happy on the golf courses of Austin for many years into the future.
Graeme Henkelman