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When you see the living conditions some people in the world face, it's very sobering. And when you see how happy they are, it's wonderful and very moving.
I use natural objects as subjects, to examine ideas such as tragedy, romanticism and ambivalence.
I find it incredibly exciting to work with students at this stage of their education. Their fresh approach is contagious.
Clara A. Abbott Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
At Knox: Since 1988
Knox College chemistry professor Larry Welch is interested in the most
basic question: "What is that stuff?" He and his students and collaborators
are working to improve our methods of chemical analysis - used in
everything from basic lab science to applications in medical research and criminal investigations.
"Initially, my research centered in electrochemistry, which uses electricity to separate components, and in chromatography, which uses a filtering material to do the separation," Welch says. "Now, we're also focusing on spectroscopy - it's a method that is more widely used, and we received some significant grants for research equipment that have enabled us to broaden the kinds of chemistry research projects that students can undertake."
Welch's current work in spectroscopy is based in the luminescence of the lanthanide metals - the elements between 57 and 71 on the periodic table - which glow when subjected to radiation. "In particular, we use circularly polarized luminescence to probe terbium complexes," Welch says. Bombarded with radiation, terbium glows brightly - it's used in fluorescent light bulbs - which also makes it a good marker, or "probe," because it's easy to measure when attached to the components that make up biochemical compounds.
Welch teaches general chemistry, forensic science, analytical chemistry and environmental chemistry. He won the 2007 Philip Green Wright-Lombard College Prize, the highest award given by Knox College for distinguished teaching, and was recently named to an endowed faculty position, the Clara A. Abbott Distinguished Chair in Chemistry at Knox.
His research has produced papers in electrochemistry, chromatography, and spectroscopy, including the detection of penicillin derivatives, separation and quantitation of pharmaceutical compounds, and the determination of equilibrium constants for terbium. Welch teaches general and advanced courses in chemistry, including forensic science, analytical chemistry and environmental chemistry.
"Professor Welch has been an exemplary teacher and scholar since joining the Knox faculty in 1988," said Knox College President Roger Taylor in making the announcement.
The Clara A. Abbott Distinguished Chair is awarded to a Knox College faculty member in biology, chemistry, or biochemistry. The chair is named in memory of Mrs. Abbott, an 1854 graduate of the Knox Academy, Knox College's preparatory school that operated in the latter half of the 19th century. Mrs. Abbott's husband, Dr. Wallace C. Abbott, was the founder of Abbott Laboratories. Selection to the chair is made by the President of the College, based on the recommendation of the Faculty Personnel Committee and the concurrence of the Dean of the College, with approval of the College's Board of Trustees at its meeting on June 5.
"Professor Welch's selection to this endowed chair represent the high esteem in which he is held by his Knox colleagues," Taylor said.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin at River Falls, Welch received his Ph.D. at Iowa State University.
