Prof Elected to Chemical Co. Board

A prominent Harvard professor and researcher has been elected to the board of directors of Rohm and Haas Company, the specialty chemical firm announced Monday.

Flowers University Professor in Chemistry and Chemical Biology George M. Whitesides, a well-known researcher in the field of nanotechnology, was nominated to serve on the thirteen-member board following what Leslie Johnson, manager of external corporate media for Rohm and Haas, called a “lengthy, tedious” search process that took “the better part of a year.”

Johnson said that Whitesides, who teaches organic chemistry as well as a Core course on nanotechnology and public policy, will join the board’s sustainable development committee, which helps monitor the general management of the company.

Estimating that his overall commitment to the company would involve no more than four or five meetings a year, Whitesides said that the directorship will not interfere with his academic obligations.

Rohm and Haas, a multi-national corporation with over $7 billion in annual revenue, produces a variety of chemical products used in various paints, rubbers and coatings.

“It’s an interesting chemical company, and I’m a chemist, and it is, in a sense, a responsibility to the profession to try to help the commercial aspect of it move smoothly,” Whitesides said.

Johnson said she could not attribute Whitesides’ selection to “any one thing,” but she pointed to Whitesides’ strong academic background and prominence in science as the primary reasons for his nomination.

“I think it was more so a combination of his recognition and awards that he received for technology, and the fact that he did play a key role at the department of chemistry at Harvard University,” Johnson said.

Whitesides, who chaired the department of chemistry and chemical biology from 1986 to 1989, and won the National Medal of Science in 1998, becomes the second scholar on the current Rohm and Haas board of directors. He joins Gilbert S. Omenn, a professor at the University of Michigan.

Jeremy R. Knowles, Houghton professor of chemistry and biochemistry, called Whitesides “a very distinguished and eclectic scientist.”

“I think it’s splendid that his expertise and wisdom should be so recognized,” Knowles said.

This is not Whitesides’ first foray into the private sector. He previously served on the board of directors for Advanced Magnetics, Inc., and continues to hold a similar post with Aerovance, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company.

Whitesides said that his experience working on corporate boards has helped him see science “from a relevant non-University point of view.”

“It’s always, I think, interesting to find out how the real world is working, and that’s one of the nice things about being involved in companies,” he said. “You see the social, the economic side of how things are working from their point of view.”

Knowles echoed Whitesides’ sentiment.

“I think this kind of activity, in moderation, is a benefit to the institution,” Knowles said.

Age restrictions for board members, which will prevent two of the current Rohm and Haas directors from keeping their posts this year, sparked the company’s search.

—Staff writer Anton S. Troianovski can be reached at atroian@fas.harvard.edu.