Joseph Merola honored with emeritus status
Joseph Merola, professor of chemistry in the College of Science at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The emeritus title may be conferred on retired faculty members who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.
A member of the Virginia Tech community for more than 38 years, Merola made significant research contributions to the study of organometallic complexes of the transition elements, both for catalysis and for their biological activity.
Merola served in numerous leadership positions, including associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, acting dean of the Graduate School, senior administrative fellow for university restructuring, Faculty Senate, and chair of the Department of Chemistry.
As the faculty representative for the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, he used his influence with the board to advocate for improvements in faculty compensation, the faculty's role in governance, and other key issues.
As acting dean of the Graduate School and senior administrator fellow for university restructuring, he had a lasting impact by reorganizing the Graduate School as an independent entity within the university and led the restructuring of the university into a new set of colleges.
In addition, Merola published more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and delivered more than 80 invited and contributed presentations on his research. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a fellow of the American Chemical Society.
Since 2002, Merola has read names at the graduate commencement ceremony, and since 2020, he has read names at various college commencement ceremonies, including recording all names for the 2020 virtual commencement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Merola received many awards for teaching including the College of Arts and Sciences Certificates of Teaching Excellence, the University Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence, the University Wine Award for Excellence in Teaching, and was inducted twice into the Virginia Tech Academy of Teaching Excellence.
Merola directed the research of 25 Ph.D. dissertations, master’s degree theses, undergraduate honors theses, and directed the research of more than 75 undergraduate students. In the classroom, he taught various courses in chemistry to undergraduate and graduate students.
Merola received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and a doctoral degree in inorganic chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Written by Emily Southern, a senior majoring in multimedia journalism and student writer for Virginia Tech Marketing and Communications
