Department Hosted Retirement Party for Gurley, Hazari and Malmgren
The Department of Chemistry held a retirement party on Friday, May 29 to celebrate the retirement of Bill Gurley, Dr. Al Hazari and Tom Malmgren. Combined, they worked for the Department and the University for almost 70 years. Read on to enjoy some blurbs about their experiences here at UT, learn how they witnessed the changes and helped transformation of the Department over the past 10, 20 and 30 years.
Bill Gurley, Technical Director of the Electronic Shop, joined the Department in 1984
What’s your educational background?
This will sound a bit odd, because I made a major career change in my early 30s. I have BS and MS degrees in sociology, the Master’s being from UTK in 1974. I worked for seven years for a regional planning agency, before deciding that I had taken a “wrong turn”. I went back to school to learn electronics, something I had been interested in since a young age. I got an Associates degree in Electrical Engineering Technology in Spring 1984, at Pellissippi State.
When did you start to work for UT and the Chem Department? What led you here?
After getting the A.S. degree in electronics, I was looking for an opportunity as an entry-level electronics technician. It just so happened that UT Chemistry had an opening, and I got a call from John Taylor, who was my predecessor in the position I now hold. When he called me about the job, I politely and naively asked “Can you tell me why a chemistry department needs electronics technicians?”
Whats your day to day job like? Has it changed over the years?
My job is very diverse. It involves electronics repairs and consulting; support for computers, departmental servers, networking; assisting faculty and staff with building issues, laboratory upgrades, etc.; purchasing of computers and other technology; and supervision of a great team of technicians. In the first few years, it was almost totally electronics support. After about 4-5 years (late 80s, early 90s), the computer stuff really grew exponentially. A lot of the computer support has been in research labs, interfacing computers with instrumentation.
Do you still remember the first day at work? Can you describe the day for me?
I’m not sure if I can remember the first day. But I do remember that my supervisor showed me an NMR spectrometer the first week I was here. This was an early NMR spectrometer with a permanent magnet, unlike the superconducting magnets we have today. In order to obtain reasonable spectra, it was very important to optimally “shim” the magnet. Today such things are handled by computers, but back then it was done by humans, carefully turning dials for different electromagnetic coils in order to shape the field. It was as much art as science, and it could take hours to do it correctly. I think that my supervisor was either trying to test my patience, or just trying get me out of his way for half a day. It was very tedious and boring. But that was pretty much the only time here that I have been bored!
What was the most interesting thing happened during your career here at UT?
I can’t think of a specific event to mention. For me, there is more of a broad overall feeling of how interesting it has been to learn so much technology at this place, and to be a part of it. It has been so interesting and rewarding to work with so many people from so many countries around the world, with so many ethnic backgrounds. There have been so many graduate students, post-doctoral associates, faculty and staff that have come to this department and spent a few years, then moved on. Many of them I got to know really well, and felt that we learned from each other. I feel blessed to have had that diversity in my workplace all these years.
What were some of the challenges you met during your career at UT?
Around 1985-86, a short time after I began here, I was asked to fix our 200MHz FT-NMR spectrometer. At that time, that was the only NMR instrument that we had which used a superconducting magnet. It was the best NMR instrument that we had. But something was wrong with the electronics, and so it has been down for weeks. There was no warranty, and no service contract, and there was no one on the staff who knew anything about how to approach the troubleshooting of this instrument. The faculty involved knew that it would take time for me to learn about the instrument, and they were prepared to wait, but the faculty wanted someone to “take ownership” of the support of that instrument and try to get it operational again. I recall that a sympathetic grad student brought me several old papers that described the physics and the electronics of pulsed, FT-NMR spectrometers. That helped immensely in my understanding of how the instrument worked. Then a very nice service engineer with the manufacturer of the instrument gave me a quick tutorial over the telephone on how to track down RF pulses using the minimal equipment that we had. In a few weeks it was running again, and I had become “the NMR guy”. This was years before our department had a Ph.D.-level NMR Director.
Another big challenge was in the early days of networking, around 1992. My associate Johnny Jones and I had been learning about networking and were anxious to see it move forward in the department. But we had trouble convincing faculty members that becoming part of this computer network would be a good thing for them. Eventually, with support from Dr. Bill Bull, our Associate Head at the time, we came up with a way to get everyone connected at minimal cost. That was when we set up interdepartmental email and folks began to appreciate the benefits of this new way to communicate.
Have you noticed any changes during your years at the Department? What are they?
So many changes!
The physical size of research instruments has shrunk dramatically. A typical UV-VIS spectrophotometer, for example, is about 1/4 the size now that it was when I came in 1984. We had about four water-cooled electromagnets in the building back then for NMR and ESR spectroscopy. Those have all been superseded by superconducting magnets. There were still a few research instruments in the department that used vacuum tubes when I first came. We used an Air Force surplus vacuum tube tester to troubleshoot them.
Computers! There were only about 2 or 3 PCs in the building when I arrived. Now they are everywhere on every desk and practically in every pocket. The changes in data storage technologies has really been amazing to watch. No more 35mm slide projectors in the lecture halls!
What’s your plan after retirement?
Read, exercise, cook, play music and travel. I will probably also do a bit of computer consulting, and I intend to continue learning new things!
Al Hazari, Lecturer, Director of Undergraduate Laboratories, joined the Department in 1991
What’s your educational background?
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from The American University in Cairo; Master of Science in Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry from Youngstown State University in Ohio; Doctorate in Science Education from The University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
When did you start to work for UT and the Chem Department? What led you here?
Prior to coming here, I taught chemistry lectures and coordinated undergraduate chemistry labs at the University of Mississippi in Oxford for 15 years. I came to UT’s Chemistry Department in July 1991. The move to UT gave me a chance to share my knowledge and experience with more students at a larger university and chemistry department. The East Tennessee area was very attractive for the opportunities for my wife and three children.
What’s your day to day job like? Has it changed over the years?
Over the past 24 years, my job has varied and I have had the opportunity to do many things that I love. When I arrived as Director of Undergraduate Chemistry Labs (a newly created position for the department), I worked with all the undergraduate chemistry labs in the department. As more students chose to study chemistry, the focus narrowed to labs for the first-year chemistry courses. Today, these usually involve about 2,000 students, 65 graduate students and several stockroom personnel.
I also had the opportunity to lecture and to engage in community service. From 1995 to 2005, I taught senior and graduate courses in science education. In 1999, I started teaching two chemistry courses for non-science majors: Chemistry and Society (in the fall) and Chemistry in the Home (in the spring). These were discontinued in 2009. My final three-year stint teaching nursing-track chemistry courses closed out my classroom contact. In collaboration with others and with the support of many outstanding graduate students, I have been fortunate to interact with East Tennessee area’s K-12 students and teachers the majority of the last 24 years. I have enjoyed working with a large number of students, faculty and staff at all levels of the educational pipeline.
Do you still remember the first day at work? Can you describe the day for me?
I remember that on my first day here, I stopped by the General Chemistry labs and met a wonderful group of dedicated staff. From my prior experience, I looked around with a focus on making sure that the lab safety equipment was highly visible. With the assistance of the stockroom supervisor, I got a can of red paint and some brushes and went to work painting the big exhaust pipes above the fume hoods on the benches where the eye washes are located. I am proud to say that, during my 24-year UT tenure, no serious accidents happened in our teaching labs.
What was the most interesting thing happened during your career here at UT?
There were many interesting things, and I will only mention a few. First, in addition to teaching lecture courses and directing undergraduate chemistry labs, I was fortunate to interact with faculty from the UT Science Education Department in the College of Education. The excellent faculty led me to the pursuit of my terminal degree, which makes me a true Tennessee Vol! Those connections have allowed me to become a resource for many K-16 chemistry and science teachers and instructors.
Second, attending annual chemical education conferences provided a chance for me to share UT chemistry information and stories with faculty and students for all over the world. It was at one of these meetings that I met a German chemistry professor with whom I later co-authored the book, “Misconceptions in Chemistry,” published by Springer.
Third, getting to know and work with the members of the East Tennessee Section of ACS, energized me to be active not only locally but also on the national level. I am currently the Councilor for the East Tennessee Section, and nationally, I have chaired the ACS Committee on Chemical Safety. I was very humbled and honored to have received the ACS Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach in 2000 and to be named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2011.
Lastly, working with the outreach programs of both the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Engineering allowed me to make a contribution to UT’s efforts for engagement with our local and extended communities.
What were some of the challenges you met during your career at UT?
The one thing I regret through my career was the trend to reduced state support. That trend led to a number of times when chemistry lab program improvements had very slow progress. Through creative work by the leadership in the department, the college and the university, and a lot of patience and persistence, new and innovative equipment is now in place and the students have the opportunity to use updated lab experiments and procedures.
Have you noticed any changes during your years at the Department? What are they?
There have been so many changes in the department that I don’t know where to start: Retiring and new faculty and staff, remodeling of individual labs as well as the entire building, and different directions in the department. All these have added to making my UT experience more productive, interesting, exciting and enjoyable.
What’s your plan after retirement?
There is more to come! I will continue with activities to assist with the preparation for the move of the teaching labs to Strong Hall. Also, I will be maintaining my chemistry and science outreach and staying involved with the American Chemical Society. I am also excited to have more time to spend with family and visit my adult children – who are now living in Tennessee, New York and California!
Tom Malmgren, Manager of Polymer Characterization Lab, joined the Department in 2003
What’s your educational background?
Lake Forest College, 1967, B.A. with major in chemistry; Purdue University, 1969, M.S. in chemistry; Purdue University, 1969, semester of education courses to obtain teaching license
When did you start to work for UT and the Chem Department? What led you here?
I taught high school chemistry and physics for 33 years, chemistry at a junior college for 1 year, and started working in the chemistry department at UT in August of 2003. After retiring from teaching, I wanted to work in a chemistry lab for a few years before I retired completely. I found the position at UT through an Internet search.
Whats your day to day job like? Has it changed over the years?
My position at UT is being the manager of the Polymer Characterization Lab. When I first started at UT, I was a lab tech under a person with a PhD who was the director. Over the years as my knowledge and skills increased, I became the full-time manager after the previous director left UT. My level of responsibility has greatly changed over the 12 years at UT.
Do you still remember the first day at work? Can you describe the day for me?
I can remember the first day walking into the lab with all of the instruments and not knowing a single thing about any of them. It was very intimidating.
What was the most interesting thing happened during your career here at UT?
There have been so many interesting facets of my position that I cannot think of just one. The challenge of learning and understanding the operation of instruments, working daily with international people rather than just Americans, and performing so many interesting and challenging experiments are a few.
What were some of the challenges you met during your career at UT?
The two biggest challenges were the huge learning curve and dealing with so many different languages and the accents involved.
Have you noticed any changes during your years at the Department? What are they?
The biggest change for me is that the motivation level of the students that I deal with now does not seem to be as high as it was when I first started. I have also seen lots of changes in staff and faculty over the 12 years.
What’s your plan after retirement?
I am sure this is a result of age but I don’t have the energy, mentally and physically, to do things outside of work like I used to do. After retiring, I will hopefully have the energy (and time) to do some of those things such as photography, volunteer work through church, taking a class, woodworking, and taking day trips with my wife just to mention a few.
Roberto Federico-Perez, a second year Ph.D. student in