North Texas e-News
07-13-06
SCHOOL NEWS
New A&M chemistry head a top researcher
By Lorraine Pace, A&M-Commerce News
COMMERCE, Texas - Dr. Nenad Kostic is passionate about chemical science.
Lab apparatus and fancy glassware chemistry sets fascinated him as a child in
what was then known as Yugoslavia. While his parents initially supplied him with
the chemistry sets, he was soon building his own collection of chemicals and
equipment.
"I am very much a scientist," says Kostic, the new head of chemistry at Texas
A&M University-Commerce, who has established a small family foundation to
support chemical science research and teaching in his home country, now
Serbia. "I knew, even when I was 13, that I wanted to be a researcher. My
parents were always very supportive of all my interests."
Kostic's work in chemistry and biochemistry has been widely cited and used by
other scientists, placing Kostic in the top half of the highest one percent of
chemists worldwide.
His work has appeared in over 130 of the most selective research journals, and
he has been invited over a 100 times to lecture at conferences and universities
worldwide.
His main fields are bioinorganic, bioorganic and biophysical chemistry,
specifically investigating the roles metal atoms play in proteins and in the
processes of life.
He looks at chemical reactions where proteins are selectively cut into pieces in
order for them to be metabolized, modified or further transformed.
He uses metal compounds to achieve these reactions which nature achieves with
enzymes. He and his students have selectively cut proteins with very simple
compounds of the precious metals, palladium and platinum, which function as
artificial enzymes.
"This is fundamental research that reveals how nature works," he says. "What
practical things people can do with the new knowledge remains to be seen."
Kostic is the recipient of several prestigious honors and awards, including the
Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation and
Sloan Fellowship, and has recently been elected Fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also the recipient of several
prestigious awards in Serbia, where he is a member of the Serbian Academy of
Sciences and Arts. Kostic has also received a cumulative total of nearly four
millions of dollars in research funding.
He graduated with distinction from the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia,
received his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin, and serves as a
research fellow at Caltech. He joined Iowa State University, where he taught
for 22 years, winning a Regents' Award for Faculty Excellence.
He describes himself as a "small collector of art" and says his growing collection
- about 60 paintings, several dozen prints, and about a half-dozen sculptures has yet to find its organizing principle.
"My acquisitions are all from Serbia where I can afford their best art, and I select
the pieces with an eye trained in the United States. I am improving the collection
by replacing the weaker pieces with better ones."
Kostic says he is very pleased by the reception he has received from colleagues
and administrators. "They are supportive of the chemistry department and desire
to strengthen its teaching and research. I am attracted to the challenge and am
ready to do my share," he says.
The Commerce resident is the father of two adult sons. He loves skiing and is
adapting to the Texas heat.