AMES, Iowa – Peter K. Dorhout from Kansas State University has been named vice president for research (VPR) at Iowa State University.
Dorhout, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and former president of the American Chemical Society, currently serves as VPR and professor of chemistry at Kansas State. He will begin his tenure in Ames by Jan. 25, 2021.
“Dr. Dorhout comes to Iowa State with an impressive portfolio of accomplishments, not only as an internationally renowned chemist, but also as a collaborative and forward-thinking leader,” said President Wendy Wintersteen. “Peter will be an outstanding partner for our faculty and staff scientists, as well as our graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, as they build on the university’s mission to create, share, and apply knowledge to benefit our world.”
Dorhout holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and completed a postdoc position at Iowa State and the U.S. Department of Energy Ames Laboratory, serving with Distinguished Professor Emeritus John Corbett.
He joined Kansas State in 2012, serving as dean of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences before being appointed to his current position in 2016. Dorhout has also served as vice provost for graduate affairs and assistant vice president for research at Colorado State University; interim provost at Colorado State University-Pueblo; and is a collaborator for chemistry and nuclear materials research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
“I am excited for the opportunity to support Iowa State’s world-class researchers and programs, building on the university’s established strengths such as biosciences and engineering, while expanding our capacity in the arts, social sciences, and humanities, and maintaining a strong connection with the Ames Laboratory,” Dorhout said. “I also look forward to working with faculty and students to support their entrepreneurial efforts, and helping bring their discoveries to the marketplace.”
An Eagle Scout, Dorhout serves as president of the executive board of the Coronado Area Council Boy Scouts of America, as well as serving BioNexus in Kansas City on the advisory board, Research Corporation for Science Advancement board of directors, and is also a life member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). Peter and his wife, Carolyn, have two daughters; Jacquelyn Dorhout in Los Alamos, NM, and Kathryn (Dorhout) Ota in Seattle, WA.
In making the announcement, Senior Vice President and Provost Jonathan Wickert thanked former VPR Sarah Nusser and interim VPR Guru Rao for their leadership of Iowa State’s research programs, and members of the search committee and campus community for their thoughtful consideration of candidates.