Professor Wayne Gladfelter retires after 46 years of innovation and leadership at UMN

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (6/10/2025) – College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professor Wayne L. Gladfelter officially retired from the Department of Chemistry on May 25, 2025. Over the course of his four and a half decades at UMN, Gladfelter’s career was defined by thoughtful and flexible leadership, innovative research advancements, and steadfast advocacy.

“When Melanie asked for comments on my retirement, I wanted to begin with the most important message - thank you to members of my research group, my colleagues, and our staff,” Gladfelter writes. “Your daily interactions on research, teaching and administration made my career at the UMN meaningful and enjoyable. I want to add special thanks to my wife Betty whose love brought balance to my life.”

Catalyst for a career

A group of people pose for a photo on a sunny day.
Senior Chemistry Majors at the Colorado School of Mines, 1974. Wayne Gladfelter is center, back row. Photo courtesy of Wayne Gladfelter.

Gladfelter’s chemistry career began with undergraduate studies in Mineral Engineering Chemistry from the Colorado School of Mines. “My love for chemistry really surged about halfway through the first semester of organic chemistry,” he says. “The ability to understand at a mechanistic level how molecules react to form new compounds was exciting. Eventually, I focused on developing this same predictive ability for organometallic reactions, homogeneous catalysis and materials chemistry.”

He then went on to earn his PhD from Pennsylvania State University under the direction of Professor Gregory L. Geoffroy. Gladfelter’s doctoral research in organometallic cluster compounds would ultimately form the foundation of a career’s worth of research at the interface of inorganic and materials chemistry. For his graduate work Gladfelter was the first recipient of the ACS Nobel Laureate Signature Award. After completion of his PhD in 1978, he went on to complete an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship with Professor Harry Gray at the California Institute of Technology.

Early research: synthesizing metal clusters

Gladfelter joined the University of Minnesota faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1979. He founded a research group that in the early years, primarily focused on investigating metal clusters and metal o-xylylene organometallics. The work explored the synthesis and characterization of nitrosyl, nitrido, and imido carbonyl clusters and led to the first examples of anion-promoted homogeneous catalytic reactions of metal carbonyl clusters. Further research outlined detailed studies on the catalytic carbonylation of nitroaromatics, offering a more environmentally friendly route to produce aromatic isocyanates. He also made significant contributions to materials chemistry, notably as one of the first to report the use of alanes (aluminum hydride compounds) for depositing metallic aluminum and aluminum-based films. One such compound, dimethylethylamine alane, first reported by the Gladfelter group, remains a widely used commercial precursor. In related research, his group synthesized and characterized a range of gallium-nitrogen compounds, including the ring-shaped cyclotrigallazane, which can be converted into gallium nitride nanoparticles.

“Although the purposes of most of our research projects have involved other scientific motivations, one of the truly enjoyable aspects in my career has been growing crystals (whether personally or by group members), especially of new compounds,” Gladfelter says. “I suspect I share this enthusiasm with many chemists who delight in seeing crystals form in a reaction mixture, not only for their beauty, but also knowing one is now an important step closer to solving the structure and addressing the original motivation of the research.” Some examples are shown below.

Scientific sketches of three metal clusters
From left to right: the first endocyclic o-xylylene complex, the first metal nitrido carbonyl cluster, a pi-bound nitrosoarene - an intermediate in the catalytic carbonylation of nitroaromatics.

As Gladfelter transitioned more into materials chemistry, their crystalline compounds were often well-known materials mostly deposited as thin films using organometallic precursors that the group developed. “An exception was the pure aluminum crystals (shown below) that were formed in the gas phase using our well-known aluminum precursor (Me2EtN)AlH3. These crystals were unwanted particles in CVD where you want the growth to occur on a substrate surface as opposed to the gas phase,” Gladfelter says. “Regardless, I have always found the transmission electron micrographs of the aluminum crystals and nanowires fascinating.”

Metallic aluminum crystals
Metallic aluminum crystals collected from the gas phase during the chemical vapor deposition of aluminum films

Service beyond the science

Alongside his research successes in the 1980s and 90s, Gladfelter began taking on leadership roles in the department. He first served as Director of Graduate studies from 1984 to 1986, and was then appointed chair of the Department of Chemistry in 1999. One of his important accomplishments in six-year tenure as chair was the management of the planning, design, and fundraising for a state-of-the-art instrument facility. The facility, which is still an active research space, is home to laboratories and staff offices for X-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. 

Following his term in departmental leadership, Gladfelter was invited to serve as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the College of Science and Engineering (then known as the Institute of Technology) in 2008. In this role, he often wore his problem-solver hat, and was involved in complex initiatives that included moving oversight of graduate programs into the college. He was also involved in making updates to the systems for hiring, developing, and promoting faculty. This work expanded the college’s efforts to provide equitable opportunities, salaries, and programming. Gladfelter served in his role until 2013. He went on to lead the MnDRIVE hiring initiative the following year, continuing his service to the greater University mission.

In recognition of his significant and steadfast commitment to service and leadership over the course of his career at the University of Minnesota, Gladfelter was honored in spring 2025 with the President’s Award for Outstanding Service. The award recognizes outstanding faculty and staff who define what it means to go above and beyond in one's commitment to service to their department and profession. The award follows similar honors for Gladfelter over the years, including the George W. Taylor Award for Distinguished Service (2015), being named a Fellow of the AAAS (2007), the Colorado School of Mines "Wall of Fame" Award (2003), the College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professorship (1998), the Institute of Technology Student Board Outstanding Instructor Award (1991), and the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (1983).

Outside of UMN, Gladfelter contributed to the broader chemistry profession through a variety of positions, including through the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Materials Research Society, the Council for Chemical Research, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He served as chair of the AAAS chemistry section from 2007 to 2009 and was treasurer of the ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry from 1993 to 1997. He has also been an advisory board member for scientific journals including Inorganic ChemistryJournal of Coordination ChemistryCeramics International, and Chemical Vapor Deposition

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

Photo collage with group photo of a graduating student on the left and a microscope image on the right.
Left – David Blank, Mik Patel, and Wayne Gladfelter pose for a photograph at Mik’s graduation; Right – Electron micrograph of indium oxide nanocrystals

Earlier this spring, Gladfelter graduated his last PhD student, Mik Patel. The Gladfelter group’s last decade of research was highly collaborative work with Professors David Blank, Kent Mann, and Ted Pappenfus (UMN–Morris). The work explored how charge separation occurs in dye-sensitized solar cells. By preparing dye–nanocrystal dyads and measuring electron transfer rates with ultrafast spectroscopy in Blank’s lab, insight into the reaction mechanism was gained. Nanocrystals of metal oxides having dimensions as small as 3-10 nanometers are at the core of this work. “Although no longer visible by the naked eye, I find the transmission electron micrographs of nanocrystals – such as the one above of indium oxide – mesmerizing.”

Over the course of his 46 years in the department of Chemistry, Gladfelter graduated more than 50 PhD students, mentored 15 postdoctoral associates, and advised 65 undergraduate researchers. In collaboration with his group members and scientists from a variety of disciplines at UMN, he co-authored more than 250 papers.

As Wayne enters this next chapter of life, he is looking forward to enjoying a little more golf, fly-fishing, cooking, and visiting his children and grandchildren in his retirement. When he reflects back on his career for inspiration and advice for the next generation, he says: “At some point you may consider switching into a new research field. This is both exciting and somewhat nerve wracking, but for someone who loves to learn it provides an incredible opportunity for expanding your scientific expertise. Obviously, it does require adding new journals to your reading list and attending meetings new to you. It also means moving to a field where your current background and expertise may not be recognized by those who will be evaluating your grant proposals and publications. Hopefully, they will recognize that your new perspective and ideas will benefit the field. Developing a good collaboration facilitates the transition and can be especially rewarding.”

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