The President’s Lecture Series: Excellence in Academia
Re-defining the Teaching-Research Nexus:
Building the CityU Discovery-enriched Curriculum
Arthur Ellis
Provost and Chair Professor of Chemistry
Education
1977
PhD degree in Chemistry,
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
1973
BS degree in Chemistry,
California Institute of Technology
Specialty
Professor Ellis’s scholarly contributions have focused
on inter-disciplinary fields such as solar energy
conversion, chemical sensors, and smart materials.
Career
September 2010–now: Provost at CityU
Oversees all academic and associated development at
CityU, including faculty appointments, retention and
promotion and the successful transformation to a
modern curriculum with global orientations.
Career
2006–2010: Vice Chancellor for Research and
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry at
the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
UCSD’s research enterprise
grew by nearly 40% under his
leadership to $1 billion,
including almost $160 million
in stimulus funding from the
US government in 2010.
Career
2002–2006: Director of the Division of Chemistry at the US
National Science Foundation (NSF)
At NSF, Professor Ellis galvanized
the chemistry community in fields
such as energy and catalysis, and
forged a network of international
counterparts that led to a new
programme for bilateral
international collaborations for the
US chemistry research community.
Career
Prior to joining NSF, he was the Meloche-Bascom Professor
of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and
Chair of the Graduate Materials Science Programme
He has taught thousands of
undergraduates and mentored
more than 50 PhD students.
He and his colleagues have
published approximately 200
research papers in leading
scientific journals and obtained
nine patents.
Major Honors
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NSF Director’s Meritorious Service Award (2004)
NSF Director’s Distinguished Teaching Scholar (2001)
American Chemical Society's Pimentel Award (1997)
Catalyst Award from the Chemical Manufacturers
Association (1994)