Hussey Honored With SEC Faculty Achievement Award

Charles Hussey Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Communication

Charles Hussey, professor and chair of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Mississippi, is a 2015 recipient of the Southeastern Conference’s Faculty Achievement Award.

The conference announced Wednesday, April 8, that Hussey has received the award, which honors one faculty member from each SEC university who has excelled in teaching, research and scholarship. Hussey, who has been widely recognized for his lifetime of research in molten salt and ionic liquid chemistry, said he is honored.

“I am very humbled to learn that I was chosen for this recognition from the list of many very qualified scholars on the University of Mississippi campus,” Hussey said. “As an alumnus of UM, this is a special honor to me.”

Chancellor Dan Jones said Hussey is very deserving of all the recognition he has received.

“Dr. Hussey represents all that is positive about academic leaders at the University of Mississippi,” Jones said. “He has an impressive research and scholarly record that has been recognized with a number of awards. He has a passion for teaching, which benefits students at all levels in our chemistry department. And he has given years of service to the university as chair of his department, building a strong undergraduate and graduate program in chemistry that is nationally recognized.”

Hussey, who holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from UM, joined the faculty in 1978. For more than 30 years, he has researched the electrochemistry and transport properties of ionic liquids and molten salts. He has authored or co-authored more than 140 refereed journal articles, book chapter, patents and technical reports. His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Alcoa and the U.S. Department of Energy. He is associate editor of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society.

Last year, Hussey was awarded the Electrochemical Society’s Max Bredig Award in Molten Salt and Ionic Liquid Chemistry, an international award recognizing his work in the field.

“The chemistry department has flourished under his leadership,” said Rich Forgette, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and professor of political science. “We are very proud of his many accomplishments and grateful to have him as a colleague.”

Each SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner will become his or her university’s nominee for the 2015 SEC Professor of the Year Award and receive a $5,000 honorarium from the conference. The SEC Professor of the Year, to be named later this month, receives an additional $15,000 honorarium and will be recognized at the SEC Awards Dinner in May and the SEC Symposium in September.

“The SEC Faculty Achievement Awards give us a unique opportunity to not only showcase the work of our outstanding faculty members, but to also support their future research and scholarship,” said Nicholas Zeppos, chancellor of Vanderbilt University and SEC president. “These 14 men and women are some of the most accomplished and influential leaders in their disciplines, and I offer each of them my sincerest congratulations.”

To be eligible for the SEC Faculty Achievement Award, a professor must be a teacher or scholar at an SEC university, have achieved the rank of full professor, have a record of extraordinary teaching and a record of scholarship that is recognized nationally and/or internationally.

“This year’s SEC Faculty Achievement Award recipients are to be commended for their unwavering dedication to higher education,” SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said. “The SEC is pleased to recognize 14 individuals who have made such a positive impact on our students.”

The SEC Faculty Achievement Awards and the SEC Professor of the Year Award are both selected by provosts at the member universities, and the program is administered by SECU, the conference’s academic initiative. SECU serves as the primary mechanism through which the collaborative academic endeavors and achievements of SEC students and faculty are promoted and advanced.

Courtesy of Ole Miss News Desk staff report