A Brief Synopsis of the Professional Work of
Leon L. Combs, Ph.D.
May, 1961 through June, 2006
I. Introduction
As my academic career is starting to close, I am beginning to reminisce even more over my
careers. The ACS defines professional activity as any function using the degree past the B.S.
degree, so I will include my time in graduate school also as part of my professional activity. I
then have had three years in industry, three years in graduate school, 25 years at Mississippi
State University, and 14 years at Kennesaw State University for a total of 45 years of
professional experience. I have turned in my letter of resignation to be effective the end of June,
2006. I have not kept a diary, so much of what I have done has faded from my memory.
However I did want to briefly state some of my experience for posterity, which is the reason for
this tome. I have put a brief resume at the end of this paper and now will begin a brief discussion
of my careers thus far in my 67 years.
II. Industrial (1961-1964)
In this venue I spent three years and three months as a polymer chemist after my B.S. degree. I
started work in May of 1961 and married Carol Hardee in February of 1962. I worked for a paint
company (Devoe & Reynolds) in Louisville, KY developing polymers for automotive and paper
coating applications. I had two products go through the pilot plant and then into production. It
was very rewarding seeing my product go out in tank cars to Ford Motor Company. I also
developed a polymer for applications in juice containers (paper). I was also attending night
school at the University of Louisville where I took 18 semester hours of graduate courses in math
and physics. My major professor there told me that I should be a Chemical Physicist and, after
he explained to me what that was, I wholeheartedly agreed with him. My wife and I decided that
I would be much happier in academics so we quit our jobs and moved to Baton Rouge in August
of 1964 to begin my Ph.D. program in Chemical Physics.
III. Graduate school (1964-1967)
This was a wonderful time! When we arrived in August of 1964, the Head of the Chemistry
Department told me that the Chemical Physics program had not yet been approved by the
governing board of LSU even though it was in the catalog! Since I came based upon the catalog
I was told that I could either proceed in the physical chemistry program or proceed along the
program as conceived by the faculty as what would probably be approved. I decided to do what
I came to do since I am a risk-taker and rather hard-headed. I was supported by a teaching
assistantship for one semester and then by a research assistantship for the remainder of my time
at LSU. I was the first graduate student for Dr. Kelly Runnels who had been mentored by
Professor Onsager at Yale University. He was a wonderful mentor and friend. My first “lab”
was a desk in a room where some instruments were located and for one of them they had to turn
off the lights to use it. People wondered at this strange person who kept working at the same
pace whether the lights were on or off! I was just so enthralled with my research that I was
rather oblivious to the room conditions. Later a few more students were drawn to Kelly’s group
and we occupied what had been a small classroom but without adequate cooling. I worked with
the university IBM 7040 computer system with all of its whirling tape drives and blinking lights
on the console. To do my research I needed the entire computer for several hours so I would
reserve the computer from midnight until 5:00 am several nights a week and on weekends.
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The Chemical Physics program was approved the spring of 1967 so I had to take the entrance
exams, the qualifying exams, and the Ph.D. entrance exam all before May of 1967! I did all of
that and the reading exams in French and German by their deadline. I also attended the Quantum
Chemistry School at the University of Florida (four weeks), the advanced program at Sanibel
Island (3 weeks) and the Sanibel Symposium (one week) for eight weeks at the end of
December, 1966 and part of January, 1967. It was at this Florida program that I met Professor
Per Lowdin with whom I would later spend a year. The symposium was wonderful with
Professors Lowdin, Slater, Hershfelder, and other luminaries of quantum chemistry.
I finished everything at LSU including three publications in the J. Chem. Physics when my
mentor advised me that it was time for me to start my own career. I was a bit taken aback
because I really enjoyed just doing research! But I started applying for positions and had two
academic offers (one in a physics department and one in both chemistry and physics departments
at MSU). I also had an industrial interview offered by Celanese and another academic interview
offered at Clemson, but I jumped at the MSU position because that was going home! Professor
Lowdin offered me a post-doctoral fellowship but my wife was very pregnant and we wanted to
settle down so I decided to accept the teaching offer at MSU. I did not get everything submitted
in time to graduate in August of 1967 so I started teaching at MSU in August of 1967 but
received my Ph.D. in Chemical Physics officially in January of 1968. During the total graduate
school time I finished with four publications in the Journal of Chemical Physics. At my final
oral exam, the committee joked about whether I was being considered for tenure at LSU (the
fourth publication in J. Chem. Physics had then been accepted)! Two of the publications were
the first ever closed solutions of the two-dimensional lattice problem exactly infinite in one
dimension (Onsager formulation) and extrapolated infinite in the other dimension. The RunnelsCombs papers are still famous in some circles.
IV. Mississippi State University (1967-1992)
My first academic career was at MSU and started the fall semester of 1967 with three new
courses to teach (second semester physical chemistry, third semester physical chemistry, and first
semester quantum chemistry (grad course)), a new baby (Jeff, born September 17, 1967), and
having to develop my own research program. Thus I have little sympathy when faculty members
complain about having 3 new courses to teach! I was granted tenure and promoted to Associate
Professor of Chemistry and Physics in 1971 and promoted to Professor of Chemistry and Physics
in 1975 at the age of 37. I am a goal-oriented person and had a bit of a crisis when I had
seemingly achieved my goals at 37. What would I do now? I gave a talk at a symposium in
Norway the fall of 1976 and interacted with Professor Lowdin who had offered me a post
doctoral fellowship. We corresponded and he offered me a year in Sweden with his group. I
was Visiting Professor of Quantum Chemistry at the University of Uppsala in Sweden from
August of 1977 to August of 1978 and the summer of 1979. At Uppsala I worked in Professor
Per-Olov Lowdin’s Quantum Chemistry Group and interacted with some wonderful and talented
people. One person, Erkki Brandas, became a very good friend and colleague. Per was on the
selection committee for the Nobel Prize in Physics so I had access to some wonderful
experiences associated with his work. Carol, Jeff, and I also were invited to the Nobel Prize
Ceremony in Stockholm and that was a wonderful, rich experience. We were also invited to his
home in the country for the mid-summer celebration. We made many lasting friends and it was a
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wonderful time. I was also Visiting Professor of Quantum Chemistry for a short time in the
summer of 1980 at Aarus University in Aarus, Denmark and at Kings College in London,
England. I was Head of the Department of Chemistry at MSU from July of 1981 until July of
1989 at which time I returned to full-time teaching and research. I was the founder and Director
of the University-Industry Chemical Research Center at MSU from January of 1982 until July of
1989. This Center brought in an average of ~$300,000 each year. I directed graduate students to
the following degrees: 1 M.S. in Physics, 2 M.S. in Chemistry, and 5 Ph.D. in Chemistry. I also
was a co-director of a student at the University of Uppsala who received his Ph.D. degree. I was
also on the committees of many other students in chemistry, physics, biochemistry (separate
department), and other departments across campus (I did not keep a record of all of those
committees, but probably at least 25 over those years). I was the PI on an NSF EPSCoR grant
for Chemistry at MSU that was responsible for boosting the reputation and productivity of the
department significantly. NSF senior people recognized me for bringing MSU Chemistry to a
competitive level, but much credit goes to the other faculty who “made it so”. MSU did not start
reducing the teaching load for research-active faculty until about the time that I became Head
there. About three years before I left, research faculty members were teaching 1 course/semester
and others were teaching 2 or 3 courses per semester.
ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS/ACTIVITIES at MSU:
A. Overview of Improvements by Department During Tenure as Head (1981-1989):
600% increase in undergraduate majors
220% increase in graduate students
200% increase in funding proposals by faculty
185% increase in refereed publications by faculty
150% increase in papers read by faculty
100% increase in research projects by faculty
B. Specific Items:
>> Planned and implemented procedures to best utilize total departmental funds, including funds to replace 2
faculty retirees. The funds were leveraged to add 2 new secretaries, 5 new teaching assistants, and 5 new faculty,
and helped develop the additional position of the University Hazardous Waste Officer.
>> Developed a contract system of work assignment, which was coupled with evaluation procedures to project
raises for faculty.
>>Developed new B.A. and B.S. programs and joint curricula with chemical engineering and with microelectronics.
>> Developed and implemented a five-year plan for developing Chemistry at MSU.
>> Reorganized the structure of the Chemical Sciences program to make it more functional for all faculty
members. This better defined the Ph.D. program, which organized 37 Ph.D. chemists in several different units on
and off campus.
>> Worked extensively on Ph.D. review documents for the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher
Learning and participated in oral reviews of this program. I interacted a lot with Dr. Tom Meredith who is now
Chancellor of the University System of Georgia – small world!
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>> Developed the first formal university/industry research cooperative venture at MSU. This center began with a
$1,500 award and quickly rose to over $300,000 per year in outside support.
>> Established an undergraduate council for Chemistry. This group consisted of two student representatives of
each class who met with me at least once each semester to discuss various aspects of their educational process.
They also made recommendations to help in advising of other chemistry majors.
>> Established a computer lab for CAI for all chemistry students (1983).
>> Initiated a recognition program for undergraduate chemistry majors, including scholarships and a recognition
banquet.
>> Developed an undergraduate handbook for Chemistry majors to help in recruiting and to aid majors in their
progress.
>> Developed, with two other department heads in Arts and Sciences, a tuition waiver proposal for graduate
students. This plan was accepted by the administration and is currently being used by the university.
>> Obtained a campus chapter of Phi Lambda Upsilon, the national chemistry honorary society.
>> Assigned a committee to develop an undergraduate brochure and established contacts with high schools and
junior colleges for recruiting.
>> Established a faculty advisory group that meets with me monthly to discuss departmental matters. The
membership of this group changes each semester to rotate through all departmental faculty members.
>> Participated in a PAIR (Personal And Institutional Renewal) training program for department heads.
>> Participated in a training program for department heads. This was a 3-day retreat led by a nationally recognized
leader to study the various aspects of this position.
>> Gave papers at two national meetings on administrative responsibilities.
>> Established an Organic Division to foster faculty development and aid in course scheduling.
>> Computerized portions of office bookkeeping. This project included writing a computer program used to keep
a daily balance of all accounts.
>> Developed a handbook on procedures for Chemistry faculty.
HONORARY AND OVERSEAS ACTIVITIES:
A. Association with Honor Societies. Honor societies have an important role in encouraging and recognizing
scholarship on a university campus. Leadership responsibilities I have had are listed below.
1. Vice President of MSU Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi (1984-1985)
I was responsible for coordinating the selection of new members for the fall and spring initiations. New
processes were developed and new efforts were made for getting invitations to parents of initiates. I attended a
regional meeting of officers at LSU to become more familiar with the internal functioning of the national
organization.
2. President of MSU Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi (1985-1986)
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Two major goals were accomplished during this year of service. One goal was to have the MSU chapter obtain
its first National Fellowship winner. This was done by carefully selecting the applicant, aiding the applicant in
preparation of the application, and having our applicant meet the chairperson of the national selection committee.
MSU's applicant was selected for a full Fellowship and became a medical student at Johns Hopkins University.
Another goal was to set up a system of an award at graduation for students graduating with a 4.00 QPA. The
proposal was approved with commendation by our central administration. A medallion was designed by me with
the Phi Kappa Phi seal on one side and the MSU seal on the other which is individually awarded at graduation by
the university president.
Several other accomplishments were made which include initiating the wearing of academic regalia by all people
on the award's program, having all members wear their Phi Kappa Phi ribbons on initiation days, and other ways to
improve the presence and prestige of this honorary on our campus. Also initiated was the holding of offices by the
faculty members to two-year terms rather than one-year terms to improve effectiveness and afford more continuity
of service.
3. Immediate Past President of Phi Kappa Phi (1986-1988) at MSU.
The duties of this office include responsibility for the campus Scholarship Recognition Day each spring and
serving with the other officers as needed. Scholarship Recognition Day is the special event during the year to honor
students of special distinction in all disciplines. Certificates were developed which are presented to each honor
student and more individual contact with students and parents to prompt their participation was initiated. I had to
“butt heads” with a new Provost who wanted to cancel the event, but the event still continues and news coverage
before and after the event continues to be stressed.
4. Developer of the Chemistry Honorary Society at MSU.
A campus chemistry honorary society was established by me in 1981 called Mu Sigma Chi with plans being
made immediately to become a chapter of the national honorary, Phi Lambda Upsilon. The petition was approved in
1985, and the official installation was performed by national officers on the MSU campus the fall of 1986. The
chapter is active and has a special outreach to high school chemistry students by giving demonstrations and
discussions of chemistry to interested young minds on the importance and excitement of chemistry.
B. Experience Overseas. Working closely with scientists throughout the world has two-fold benefits: the
researcher is stimulated to perform at a higher level, and his university is recognized as a contributor to scholarship
and research on an international scale.
1. Sweden
As Visiting Professor of Chemistry at the University of Uppsala, 12 months was spent in Sweden working in the
research group headed by Professor Per-Olov Lowdin. I directed a portion of one student's dissertation, attended
several international symposia, completed several research projects, attended the Nobel Prize Ceremony, worked
with a member of the Physics Nobel selection committee, and received a grant from the Swedish Research Council.
I returned to Sweden as Visiting Professor for the summer of 1979 with a grant from the Swedish Research Council
to complete several research topics in Theoretical Chemistry. In the summer of 1982 I gave a research presentation
at the Fourth International Congress in Quantum Chemistry held at Uppsala. Contacts with members of the group
continue to the present.
2. Norway
I was an invited participant at an international symposium on Quantum Chemistry in August of 1976 and had
research discussions with a professor in Bergen, Norway form 1979-1982.
3. Denmark
I spent part of the summer of 1980 at the University of Aarhus to work on a research project in the Theoretical
Chemistry Group and to give a special seminar on Intermolecular Forces. Contact with this group continued for
several years.
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4. England
I spent part of the summer of 1980 at Imperial College in London working with a professor from Chelsea
College, University of London, to complete the writing of a review article on the theory of cooperative phenomena
in lipid systems. Contact continued for many years.
SELECTED MSU SERVICE ACTIVITIES:
I served on many committees, advisory groups, and as minor professor and committee member for many
graduate students during my tenure at Mississippi State University. The following were selected as
examples of service.
1. University Computer Advisory Committee
I served on this committee for 18 years and was involved in most major decisions concerning the
computer center such as selection of the Director, directions for the Center, and major purchases.
2. University Instrument Center Committee (Organizer)
I organized this committee to coordinate large instrument purchases, to obtain maintenance support of
equipment, to keep lists of all equipment on campus which is available for general use, to obtain solvent
storage facilities, and to study the development of a campus chemical stockroom system.
3. Coordinator, Chemistry Department Development Fund
I established this fund to obtain support for chemical research and teaching programs from private
sources. The fund attracted money from alumni and foundations for research and teaching equipment and
for scholarships for academically talented undergraduates.
4. Coordinator, Physical Chemistry Laboratories
I had to completely revamp these laboratories from 1970-1974. New experiments were designed, two
laboratory manuals were written, and computer programs were written to perform the data reductions
required.
5. Chemistry Department Newsletter Editor
I established the newsletter in 1975 in an effort to develop better relations with our alumni and to aid
in fund raising. We continued publishing the Newsletter and the alumni appreciate reading about the
department's development.
6. Faculty Award Committee
I served on the committee to select outstanding faculty for awards for teaching, research, and service
at the annual spring banquet sponsored by our alumni association.
7. Sigma Xi Research Award Committee
I served on committees to select faculty for awards in outstanding research which are given at an
annual meeting.
8. Who's Who in American Universities and Colleges Committee
I served on this committee to select outstanding students for this listing.
9. Arts and Sciences Steering Committee
This committee worked for about a year to develop a common core curriculum for the College of Arts
and Sciences for both B.A. and B.S. degrees. The core was successfully developed and all the committee
learned much about the thinking patterns of faculty in the varied disciplines.
10. Chairman, Computer Utilization Committee for College of Arts and Sciences
This committee functioned for a semester with considerable effort to determine the computer needs
for the college. The committee also served on a standing basis to advise departments on the best available
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hardware for their particular needs. By determining present needs and projecting future needs, the
committee saved the College money and allowed departments to still accomplish their needs.
11. Arts and Sciences Alumni Foundation
I served as a founding officer of this organization with the purposes of developing interest among the
alumni and raising funds for academic scholarships and special projects in the College. I also served as
Secretary, Vice President and twice as President.
Mississippi changed their requirements for retirement to allow anyone with 25 years of
service to retire regardless of age so in the spring of 1992 I started considering moving. I
had worked hard to develop the undergraduate and graduate program and the new Head
was not paying any attention to the undergraduate program so it was quickly deteriorating
and that was very difficult for me to watch. Carol and I were then in a frame of mind that
we would be open for some other opportunity although Carol had only worked for MSU
for 23 years and would not be ready to collect retirement benefits.
V. Kennesaw State University (1992 – 2006)
In June of 1992, I saw an advertisement in C&E News for Chair of the Department of
Chemistry at Kennesaw State College, a school of which I knew nothing. After looking
on the map and seeing that it was not too far from Gainesville, GA (where my grandson
lived – with his parents!), I decided to apply. It happened that Dr. Cindy Brittain from
that department was attending a summer workshop at MSU on how to write successful
grants funded by NSF. I talked with her and then I was invited to go to Kennesaw to
interview. Dr. Al Panu picked me up at my motel one morning and took me to the
college. He parked near the science building and I thought “wow, rather bleak!” The
only faculty members there were Dan Williams, Huggins Msimanga, Frank Walker
(former Chair), Jack Duff, and Al. Patti Reggio was somewhere else and of course Cindy
was back at my home university. There was one lab for freshman chemistry and it was a
long lab with only one entrance/exit and that was at one end of the lab. A fire at the front
would mean death for many students since it was on the third floor! The Chair’s office
was about 1/6 of the office size I had at MSU. The entire building smelled like mildew
and there was one lab for upper division courses and one very depressing, small room for
faculty research. I was not impressed! I met with Ed Rugg and he seemed like a decent
person. I met with Herb Davis who would be my Dean, and I liked him. Herb told me
that the money was available for the new building and that I could help design it. With
only a B.S. program and not a lot of students I was not terribly drawn to come. However
I did like Herb and thought that he would be a good person with whom to work.
I went back to MSU and investigated retiring and found out that I could take full
retirement with my 25 years service and unused sick and vacation leave. Herb called and
offered me the job at slightly less than my nine-month salary at MSU. He then
renegotiated and offered me an improved nine-month salary plus 10% in the summer to
be Chair. Carol and I decided to accept the job since the new Chair at MSU was letting
the program that I had worked so hard to improve “go to pot”.
We came to the area one weekend and found a perfect lot and decided to build a house in
Carriage Oaks subdivision in Marietta (I wanted to be south of the college to avoid being
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in the terrible traffic). We lived in an apartment near the college until January of 1993
when we moved into our new house. I arrived at my office in August of 1992 to find that
the lab coordinator and the secretary had quit! I went to meetings where people were
talking “educationaleze”, which I did not understand and I came without tenure! I was
sure that we had made a terrible mistake in this move. Carol then had to have emergency
gall bladder surgery due to a severe gall bladder infection that involved bringing in the
CDC to help treat the bacterial infection. However the faculty members were very nice
when Carol was sick and Herb’s secretary Patricia Cook was very helpful in my work
and in finding me my first secretary at KSU, Brenda Humble, who is still my right hand
person and was recently promoted to Program Coordinator. We also hired a graduate of
the department to be my first lab coordinator. Things were looking up considerably. The
next year I earned tenure, which was a relief since I still did not understand what was
going on at a lot of meetings!
I moved my office and Brenda’s office downstairs to larger quarters even though the
smell of mildew was strong in the air. The fall of 1992 Herb and I traveled to Rice
University and two universities in Arizona to study their new science buildings. Also
Herb, I, and Dorothy Zinsmeister (chair of biology) went to a Kaleidoscope meeting held
in Boston to learn more about lab building design. We also went to UGA and Georgia
Tech to look at other new buildings. We hired a firm from California that specialized in
building science buildings to help the architects in the design of the building. We
obtained a new faculty member position and hired Dr. Jennifer Powers, a Bioanalytical
chemist who had just graduated from Georgia Tech.
We moved into the new building in January of 1996 to a huge relief as we then had 5
teaching labs and 8 research labs as well as new offices. I had also designed four small
offices for students who worked with faculty members to share. I designed new
experiments for the physical chemistry lab and wrote the first lab manual for the course.
The department owned a constant volume calorimeter but it had never been used. For all
courses, we separated the labs from the lectures for both a pedagogical reason and for
proper accounting of faculty time. We also set up two degree programs within the B.S.
degree program, one for students intending to go to graduate school and the other for
students wanting more flexibility so that they could go to professional schools or work on
an MBA to work in industry.
A very unfortunate event happened in that Cindy’s husband Hank, who had a Ph.D. in
Chemical Engineering and taught physics in the Biology Department, was fired because
he wanted to do research. I was very upset at that event. Cindy wrote the NSF grant that
was funded to purchase our NMR spectrometer. Hank was offered a job at the company
at which he had worked before and Cindy moved with him. We then did a job search and
hired Vicky Bevilacqua as a physical biochemist. Hank and Cindy over several years set
up the Brittain Scholarship with a requirement that the person receiving the money be
doing research with a faculty member in Chemistry (you may read between the lines
here).
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Dr. Peterson came as Dean of the College the fall of 1997. The Biochemistry degree was
approved by the Board of Regents in November of 2002 and we started a Forensic
Chemistry track the spring of 2003. The fall of 2003 we had 350 students majoring in
chemistry and in the spring of 2004 we had 65 biochemistry majors and 312 chemistry
majors. The fall of 2004 we had 476 majors! We currently have more chemistry majors
than any other university in Georgia and probably are in the top 15 departments in our
country. I obtained a chapter of Sigma Xi for KSU and a chapter of Phi Lambda Upsilon
for our department. I also developed a proposal for a NOBCChE chapter at KSU and it
was approved January 14, 2006. I coordinated the testing for the Chemistry Olympiad
for our section of Georgia in 2003 and 2004 with over 250 HS students participating in
both events. I was the founder and Director of the Center for Industrial Collaboration in
1998 and have helped in that center. The last physical chemistry class that I taught was
the spring of 2004 to three great people. My largest physical chemistry class was 59 at
MSU and my largest class to teach was 225 in freshman chemistry at MSU.
Here are a few items that I remember well (of course, many of these were not done by me
alone but in cooperation with faculty, students, and staff). These items are not in any
order except as they occurred to me to include.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Developed a Workload Policy and Mission Statement.
Separated the labs from the lectures for all chemistry courses.
Served as Chair of the KSU Senate.
A huge job was done to convert our system from the quarter system to the
semester system.
5. Used ETACT money to obtain two research grade SGI computers (Per and Linus)
and a research grant with Georgia State to obtain four O2 SGI computers. All but
one of these computers went to the research program of Dr. Reggio.
6. Used ETACT money to obtain a GC/MS and a FTIR spectrometer.
7. Used money to obtain a teaching grade Raman spectrophotometer.
8. Obtained a new position of lab coordinator to assist Ben Huck (Sara Lyons).
9. Developed a Forensic Chemistry track in our degree program and a Forensic
Certificate program at the undergraduate level.
10. Developed the first Supplemental Instruction program to be offered at KSU.
11. Started a new tutoring center in the Library to be part of the tutoring program that
they have offered in mathematics for a long time. This location helps a lot and it
allows for more tutoring times including Sunday afternoons. It is a pilot project
for the spring semester of 2006.
12. Obtained permission to have the position of Lecturer in our department. Such a
position is for a person to teach only laboratory sections and to have no research
component to the job description. The purpose of this position is to reduce our
dependence upon the use of part-time faculty members.
13. Hired Brenda Humble-Bates, Ben Huck, Jennifer Powers, Marina Koether, Vicky
Bevilacqua, Kevin Gwaltney, Karen Duda, Greg Rushton, Deborah Sauder, Brian
Condon, and Nancy Jo Kirk (our first Lecturer). Also hired Bob Morris, Nancy
Bryson, Oliver Just, and Javier Conception as Temporary Faculty as we searched
for four new tenure-track faculty to start the fall of 2005.
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14. Hired Janet Shaw, Chris Dockery, John Haseltine, and Martina Kaledin to tenuretrack positions starting the fall semester of 2005.
15. Hired Carol Christensen, Jonathan McMurry, Scott Lewis (second chem. Ed
faculty member), Jackie Jurchenko (second Lecturer), and Daniela Tapu to start
the fall of 2006.
16. Used ETACT money to obtain a fluorescence spectrophotometer for Kevin
Gwaltney.
17. Organized a group of chairs to meet to discuss issues related to the jobs of chairs
and their role in the university. This later became the Chairs Council, but with no
mention of my efforts.
18. Led a group that proposed the Visitor Center with a welcome house. This
proposal was developed and has grown to a nice welcome area for visitors. Again
there has been no mention of my efforts (some of the original committee call the
small building the “Combs Building”).
19. Obtained four new faculty positions that were filled as temporary positions the
fall of 2003. Searches for permanent occupants began the fall of 2003 to be filled
the fall of 2004. Requested a second laboratory coordinator position and three
more faculty positions, which we obtained to start the fall of 2005 if money is
available.
20. Was a co-PI on four funded NSF grants and on one NASA-funded grant.
21. Established a new research program for me in web-based education. Published
papers, made presentations at international meetings, and led workshops in this
area. See http://science.kennesaw.edu/~lcombs for publications and papers.
22. Originated an AMSA (American Medical Student Association) chapter, FCA
chapter, FCE (Fellowship of Christian Employees) organization, and a PreProfessional club.
23. Increased number of majors from 92 (fall of 1999) to 476 (fall of 2004) (417 %
increase).
24. Increased number of students taking courses. 1992: 700; 2003: 2560 for a 266%
increase.
25. Increased credit hours of students taking courses. 1992: 3515; 2004: 6311 for a
80 % increase.
26. Changed department name from Chemistry to Chemistry & Biochemistry.
27. Obtained BOR approval to offer the B.S. degree in Biochemistry in October of
2002. Developed with Dr. Powers and Dr. Bevilacqua the Biochemistry degree
that was approved by the BOR as a separate degree effective May of 2003. I had
to debate with a BOR committee before they would approve it. This new degree
did not have the complete support of all faculty members because of some fears
that the new degree would reduce too much our number of chemistry majors.
28. Established (FY04) a research-intensive faculty track with reassigned teaching
load to allow more time for research. Because of the increase in majors and our
increased service load this was not able to be continued. Now that we have a
critical mass of faculty members perhaps someone else can bring it back.
29. Increased number of majors from 67 (fall, 1992) to 476 (fall, 2004), which is a
600% increase and is the same as the increase at MSU while I was Head.
30. Obtained a chapter of Phi Lambda Upsilon for our department.
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31. Sent in the paper work to establish a chapter of NOBCChE (National
Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers) for our department.
This was approved January 14, 2006.
32. Obtained faculty lines to increase faculty numbers from 7 to 20 (not counting the
Dean who is a Professor in the department).
33. Moved the Chemistry Education B.S. degree track into this department so that
students will graduate with a degree in chemistry and all the requirements for
certification to teach chemistry in high schools.
34. Initiated the first Chemistry Education faculty position in the department after
moving the degree program from the College of Education into our department.
Two chemical education faculty members have now been hired.
35. Established the endowed Combs Scholarship that will continue to help KSU
students forever.
36. ?????
The fall of 2004 we began planning for an addition to the Science building to add more
teaching labs for we have maxed out the use of all of our teaching labs. We also are
hiring four new faculty members for the fall of 2006 and we need research labs for them.
This is an exciting time for this department. Also today (4/28/2006), the news about
budgets is improving so we should have at least one new position for the fall of 2006.
Having achieved the same level of success in percentage of total majors at MSU and at
KSU during the time that I was “in charge may be an indication that it is indeed time to
change careers again. I only have ~50 publications and ~60 presentations for the 37
years in academics partly because I was not willing to sacrifice my family for my career.
Still I was able to bring in about $3.5 M in outside funds along with the publications and
presentations and I am very pleased with my career. My family did make some sacrifices
for me, but I was able to do what I have done because I quickly learned how to set
realistic (but high) goals, time management and multitasking, and the setting of priorities.
I also included my family in as many professional trips as possible. My son, Jeff, is an
industrial engineer specializing in lean manufacturing and is building an excellent
reputation in this area. He and his wife, Sarah, have taken in two girls (6 and 8 years old)
who were taken away from their family because of mistreatment. I am very proud of
him. Again I give credit to the Lord for the positives in my career and for the huge
growths in the two academic programs that I have led.
My wife, Carol, has been my earthly strength and encourager for 44 years. Without her I
probably would be still making polymers and smelling of epoxy resins. She is my love
and my best friend. Together we have enjoyed many blessings from the Lord. Thank
you, Carol.
SELECTED KSU SERVICE ACTIVITIES
Member of University Senate (1993-1997)
Member of Executive Committee of University Senate (1994-1997)
Chair of University Senate and Chair of Senate Executive Committee (1995-96)
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Vice-Chair of Georgia Academic Advisory Committee for Chemistry (1996-97)
Chair of Georgia Academic Advisory Committee for Chemistry (1997-98)
Chair of Technical Strategy Committee for College of Science and Mathematics, KSU (1997- 2004)
Organizer and Director of the Center for Industrial Collaboration, KSU (1998-1999)
Co-Developer of Master’s Degree in Teaching with Technology (1998- 1999). The degree was not
approved even with approval from the Graduate Dean who unfortunately decided to leave KSU.
Member of KSU Distance Education Facilitation Committee (1999 - 2003)
Organizer of the Fellowship of Christian Employees at KSU (summer, 1999)
Faculty advisor for student organizations: AMSA, Pre-Professional Student Association, FCA, CCC, RUF
I submitted a petition to Sigma Xi to establish a chapter at KSU. The petition was approved by the national
office and the installation ceremony was held February 10, 2000 by the National President.
I submitted a petition to Phi Lambda Upsilon to establish a chapter at KSU. The petition was approved and
the chapter was installed at KSU on April 24, 2003. I then became the only person to ever establish two
chapters of PLU at two different universities. Most other chapters are also at Ph.D. granting universities.
Chair of Artist and Scholar Committee of Phi Kappa Phi chapter at KSU. The nominee for 1999 won the
Southeastern Regional Scholar Award.
COMMUNITY SERVICE:
Member of Starkville Development Foundation to establish a research park (1982-84)
.
Board of Directors, MSU Baptist Student Union 1988-1992 (Chairman from 1988-1989)
Track and Field Official 1992 - 2001
Deacon, Burnt Hickory Baptist Church, Marietta 1994- (Vice Chair 1995-96, Chair 1996-97) and Faith
Baptist Church, Starkville, MS (1984-1992)
Sunday School Teacher (First United Methodist Church and Faith Baptist Church in Starkville, MS; Burnt
Hickory Baptist Church in Marietta, GA; and since 2001 Midway Presbyterian Church, Marietta, Ga)
VI. Next Career (2006  ?)
Only the Lord knows what is to follow my career at KSU. I want to spend more time
with my wife, Carol, and we need to develop more friends near our age and interests. I
also want to have time for Carol and me to go places during the middle of the week when
others are working so that the places will be less crowded. My son, Jeff, and his wife
Sarah now live in Dublin, GA and I would like to be more available to them and to the
two young girls that they have taken into their home. I also have two grandsons in
Gainesville, GA and I want to be available more for them and our former daughter-inlaw, Debra who remains very close to us. So certainly family is very important to me and
I want to make all family possibilities more probable.
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First in my life is my relationship with the Lord. When everything else is second to Him
then everything else functions much smoother! I have written a number of papers on
practical theology with some of them posted on the web site of my ministry
(http://LivingTheology.com) and I hope to write many more. I also started a weekly
newsletter ministry for my Living Theology program. In January the number of hits/day
was about 230 and involved many other countries. It seems that the Lord is blessing this
ministry and I look forward to having more time to spend with it.
I also started a fiction book many years ago that I hope to finish. I think that I will
probably use my experience in writing and designing web sites for teaching online to
helping more Christians live a life truly dedicated to the Lord (commonly called a
Christian World View). I also still enjoy chemistry and working with students, and may
continue to work on developing more online sites for serious students of science. I used
to say that I would never teach at KSU again, but I am softening on that attitude lately. I
might continue my work with hybrid classes by teaching such at KSU. There are also
several consulting possibilities that I might pursue in academics.
I am on the Advisory Board for the College of Arts and Sciences at MSU (27
departments) and look forward to spending more time on that service. I also was just
appointed a member of the Board of Directors of Chemical Abstracts (an ACS
publication) and hope to be more active in the ACS.
I will carefully consider any offers. KSU has made no offers at this time so that is the
main reason that KSU is not mentioned in my post-KSU time.
I must also give glory and praise to the Lord for His work in my life. It is truly amazing
how many Christian faculty and staff members the Lord has brought into the departments
while I have been leading them. We currently have at least seven Christian faculty
members, which is half of the membership at this point. There also may even be more
Christians, but I know that I can really depend upon four of them.
I never took many vacations so the concept is rather new to me but I think that I can catch
on to it. Are relaxing trips taken when one is retired called “vacations”?
I feel good about setting June 30, 2006 for my last day at KSU now. The Lord will direct
me for the rest of my life just as He has for many years. Hopefully I will listen more
completely as I continue to age and mature. Here is a brief cv:
PRESENT POSITION:
Professor and Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Kennesaw State University
Professor and Head Emeritus, Mississippi State University
EDUCATION:
Degree Major
University
Date
__________________________________________________________________________
B.S.
Chemistry
Mississippi State University
May 1961
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Ph.D.
Cert.
Physics*
Chemical Physics
On-Line Instruction
University of Louisville, KY
Louisiana State University
Walden Institute
1962-1964
Jan. 1968
August 2000
*18 hours of graduate work in Physics and Mathematics taken while employed full-time in industry.
EXPERIENCE:
Duty
Employer
Duration
__________________________________________________________________________
Chair, Review of Physical
Commission on Higher Education
1996-1997
Sciences Team
South Carolina
Outside Reviewer of Distance
Education for Tennessee
Commission of Higher Education
Tennessee
Summer, 2004
Professor and Chair
of Chemistry and Biochemistry
and Founder of Center for
Industrial Collaboration
Kennesaw State University
1992 - 2006
Professor of
Chemistry and Physics
Mississippi State University
1989-92
Head, Department of
Chemistry, and Director and
Founder of University Industry
Chemical Research Center
Mississippi State University
1981-89
Visiting Professor of
Quantum Chemistry
University of Uppsala
Uppsala, Sweden
1977-78
Summer 79
Professor of
Chemistry and Physics
Associate Professor of
Chemistry and Physics
Assistant Professor of
Chemistry and Physics
Mississippi State University
1975-92
Mississippi State University
1971-75
Mississippi State University
1967-71
Research Assistant
Louisiana State University
1965-67
Teaching Assistant
Louisiana State University
1964
Polymer Chemist
DeVoe & Reynolds, Louisville, KY
1961-64
UNIVERSITY COURSES TAUGHT:
Freshman Chemistry
Physical Chemistry Lectures and Laboratories
Mathematics for Chemists and Physicists
Quantum Chemistry, Modern Physics
Molecular Structure
Thermodynamics
Photochemistry
Statistical Thermodynamics
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
HONORARY SOCIETIES:
American Institute of Chemists, Fellow
Phi Kappa Phi
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American Physical Society
American Chemical Society (Chair, Miss. Section 1989)
American Association of Computers in Education
Phi Lambda Upsilon
Sigma Xi
DISSERTATIONS AND THESES SUPERVISED:
Carl Paige Miller, "Hybrid One-Center Molecular Orbitals", M.S. in Physics granted June 1969.
Judy K. Young, "A Comparative Study of Current Methods in Semiempirical Quantum Chemistry", Ph.D.
in Chemistry granted January 1972.
Miles E. Holloman, "Semiempirical Calculations of Barriers to Internal Rotation and Ring Puckering",
Ph.D. in Chemistry granted May 1973.
Stanley Burt, "A Theoretical Study of Narcotic Agonists and Antagonists", Ph.D. in Pharmacology from
the University of Mississippi Medical Center granted August 1976.
Aldwyn Tang Kai, “Theoretical Topics in Quantum Chemistry”, Ph.D. in Quantum Chemistry, University
of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden (supervised one of the dissertation topics), 1978.
Charles Waggoner, "Direct Calculation of the Hartree-Fock Density Matrix", Ph.D. in Chemistry, 1985.
Mary Katherine Wolverton, "Phase Transitions in Monomolecular Films:
Chemistry, 1986.
A Model Study", M.S. in
Elizabeth Ann Keene, "Solvation Effects on Conformational Preferences of Molecules", M.S. in Chemistry,
1993
VII. Other Stuff
I was one of the outstanding clarinet players in Mississippi in high school. A junior
college near my home town heavily recruited me. I remember clearly one Saturday the
band director came to my house in a red convertible filled with cheerleaders in their
skimpy outfits. He said that I could use the car while I was there (he made no promises
about the cheerleaders!). Instead I took a first-chair scholarship to be in the marching and
performance band at Miss. State University. I had a small dance band for a while that
was rather innovative. We could not find a bass player so we used a trombone for that
role. The band consisted of me (clarinet and alto sax), tenor sax, trumpet, trombone,
piano, guitar (an Elvis imitator), and a female singer. We had fun and mostly played ad
lib. I remember after one gig I had enough money left over to buy coffee and pie for me
and my tenor sax player!
I continued my track and field interest later in life by competing at the masters’ level in
the shot put, discus and javelin throw, and hammer throw. I won a good number of
medals but never mastered the hammer throw. I became a National level certified track
and field official in a number of areas and was elected outstanding track and field official
in Georgia in 1999. I had to quit such activities because of my spine problems
(http://science.kennesaw.edu/~lcombs/Surgery.htm). For several years we had a sail boat
(Catalina 21) and enjoyed sailing at the Jackson, MS reservoir. While a faculty member
at MSU I taught myself to swim and swam a mile a day during my lunch hour for some
time. I became interested in weight lifting at 15 and later at about 44 I joined the 300-
16
pound club with a required bench press of 300 pounds. The most I bench pressed was
325 pounds but that was all the weights the club had. Having been active physically for
many years (ages 13 to ~61), it is hard to not be physically active now.
Of course my main emphasis since 1970 has been how to better serve the Lord. My
spiritual resume is located at http://livingtheology.com/Resume.htm for those interested
in such. I have a lot of writings at http://LivingTheology.com and hope to write many
more. I hope to be able to expand my involvement in Christian writing and publishing
after I retire from KSU.
I just read over this entire writing again and several things about me are apparent. I have
always been an innovator and a goal-setter. I am not afraid to take risks but I do carefully
consider possible consequences. My wife, Carol, is an integral part of my life. My life
took a huge change when I was married to her. She helps me keep my life in order and to
stay focused on my goals. I do have a tendency to become bored and have to work to
complete some tasks. I deeply care about my family and I am still learning to trust the
Lord. I have a fairly strong personality and a high integrity. I believe that everyone
should use their talents and work hard to achieve goals. I have little sympathy for lazy
people.
I still have a lot of pain and I have some problems dealing with the pain medication that
controls the pain. I think that if I did not have those problems I would not retire so
young! But since I believe in a Sovereign God I know that all of my conditions are under
His control and since I know that He is working all events for my good I can relax and
trustingly go forward.
Rom 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
This is a good start and I am excited about what is to come!
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