Dr. Shelley Minteer, director of the Kummer Institute Center for Resource Sustainability and a professor of chemistry at Missouri S&T, has been named the inaugural Dr. Ken Robertson Memorial Professor in Chemistry at S&T.

The Robertson Memorial Professorship honors the late Ken Robertson, professor emeritus of chemistry, who served Missouri S&T for over 40 years as a passionate scientist, educator and advisor known for his dedication to the well-being of students.

“Shelley has been a tremendous asset to the chemistry department since she joined us in 2023,” says Dr. Chariklia Sotiriou-Leventis, chair and professor of chemistry at S&T. “Besides conducting research, teaching and serving as a director, she has recently been named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and a 2024 class member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.”

Minteer joined Missouri S&T in 2023 as founding director of the Kummer Institute Center for Resource Sustainability. The center’s mission is to decrease the footprint of mineral and fuel extraction, increase access to clean drinking water, and leverage regional resources for resilient energy, water, and materials use. Those materials include critical minerals like cobalt, lithium and nickel, which play a major role in renewable energy and key clean energy technology. She is also responsible for maximizing the capabilities and expertise of S&T’s faculty to strengthen the collaboration with industrial partners and research centers beyond S&T.

Minteer is an expert in energy storage and conversion as well as the electrification of chemical manufacturing, a process known as electrosynthesis. She earned a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Iowa in 2000 and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Western Illinois University in 1995. She has authored more than 450 journal articles and presented at conferences around the world.

She began her teaching and research career in 2000 as an assistant professor of chemistry at Saint Louis University, where she held a joint appointment in biomedical engineering. In 2011 she joined the University of Utah as a Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering to lead the USTAR Alternative Energy Cluster. In 2020 she was named director of the National Science Foundation’s Center for Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry at the University of Utah; she was named a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of Utah in 2022.

Chemistry alumni Dr. Ming-Shian Wu and his wife, Justina C. Wu, established the chemistry professorship at Missouri S&T. Under Robertson’s advisement, Ming-Shian earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Missouri S&T in 1973. Justina studied doctorate-level quantum chemistry at Missouri S&T, for which she was honored in 1996 by the chemistry department.

“We are deeply grateful to the Wu family for their generous gift,” says Dr. Mehrzad Boroujerdi, vice provost and dean of Missouri S&T’s College of Arts, Sciences, and Education. “This endowed professorship will strengthen our chemistry department’s role as a catalyst for innovation and discovery, equipping students with the knowledge, tools, and opportunities they need to make lasting contributions throughout their careers.”

About Missouri S&T

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.