Ogden News

Ogden College of Science and Engineering is pleased to announce that Dr. Matthew Nee will serve as the next Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Western Kentucky University.  The Department of Chemistry boasts strong records in teaching and research and Dr. Nee will bring strength to both areas when he assumes the Chair position on July 1.

According to David Brown, Dean of the Ogden College of Science and Engineering, “Dr. Nee is an outstanding scientist with a real dedication to providing exceptional training to students.  He brings considerable talent and energy to the leadership of a foundational department.  I look forward to seeing Chemistry continue to ascend at WKU.”

Dr. Nee, originally from the Atlanta area, earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Georgia, followed by a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. After many years in in gas-phase, small-molecule structure, he pursued solution-phase energetics as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. His independent research career blended both aspects to study surfaces and interfaces, particularly as they relate to molecular structure, beginning at WKU in 2009.

Since beginning at WKU, Dr. Nee has developed several student-driven research projects in his laboratory. He has been the research advisor for nearly 50 Gatton, undergraduate, and master’s students while teaching a wide range of general, physical, and materials chemistry courses. He has been central to the development of the WKU Shared Materials Research Laboratory, organizing a group of researchers who have collectively secured extramural funding totaling over $1M in instrumentation grants over the last several years, in addition to the research funding he has secured from NSF, USDA, NASA-KY, and the Kentucky Water Resources Research Initiative. Outside of the lab, Dr. Nee has served as a representative on the University Senate and has worked with units across campus to help improve the WKU Master Plan, among numerous other service roles.

Dr. Nee’s philosophy on education is that it should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their circumstances. As a public good, higher education is vital to a thriving democracy and a vibrant economy. He loves that he has the opportunity to show students the joys of discovery, the communication and championship of research results, and the ways in which chemistry impacts their everyday life.