UAlbany's Eric Block Named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society

Block was chosen for his contributions to organosulfur and food chemistry, especially his work with onions, garlic, and other alliums, and the sense of smell. (Photo Mark Schmidt)

ALBANY, N.Y. (July 14, 2014) -- University at Albany chemistry professor Eric Block has been selected as a member of the 2014 class of Fellows of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society. The 2014 ACS Fellows, which were announced in today’s issue of Chemical and Engineering News, will be honored at a special ceremony during the ACS National Meeting in San Francisco on Aug. 1. Recipients are selected based upon documented excellence and leadership in science, the profession and education, and volunteer service in the ACS community. Block was chosen for his contributions to organosulfur and food chemistry, particularly those associated with onion, garlic, and other alliums, as well as to olfaction (the sense of smell). His ACS volunteer service includes 20 years as editorial board member of the ACS Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, chair/organizer of international symposia, chair of ACS award selection committees, and promoter of chemistry to the public, e.g., through NPR’s Science Friday appearances, National Chemistry Week lectures, and as a speaker at garlic festivals.

“Eric Block’s selection as a Fellow of the American Chemical Society is a testament to his standing in the scientific community, his distinguished contributions to the field of chemistry, and his dedication to educating future scientists. It reflects well on the high quality of the research conducted at the University at Albany,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Edelgard Wulfert.    

Block joined the UAlbany faculty in 1981. He served as Chair of Chemistry at UAlbany from 1985-1991 and has mentored more than 66 graduate and postdoctoral coworkers. In 2006, Block became one of the first two endowed professors in the University at Albany’s 168-year-history, when he was named Carla Rizzo Delray Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. Block has also previously been honored as a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the leading international organization dedicated to the advancement of science.

Block is the author of more than 240 scientific papers, four books, and 10 patents in the field of organic chemistry, and has been continuously funded by the National Science Foundation since 1980. He is the recipient of national and international awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, and has been a Chinese Academy of Sciences Visiting Professor, a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University, and Michael Visiting Professor at the Weizmann Institute in Israel.

See the complete list of new ACS Fellows.

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