Professor Joseph Merola came to the Virginia Tech Department of Chemistry in 1987 after an impactful nine years at the research laboratories at Exxon Research and Engineering Company. At this time, he was looking for ways that would allow him to continue his chemical research, but would also allow him to teach young minds — thus becoming a faculty member at Virginia Tech.
He’s made a heavy impact in the department and beyond, effectively communicating chemistry and current science to broad audiences. He’s appeared in the “Ask the Experts” section for Scientific American and was invited regularly to speak on the AAAS Radio Program “Science Update.”
Merola’s research work focuses on the study of organometallic chemistry, an area that bridges inorganic and organic disciplines, for diverse applications. His group tries to take advantage of the properties of organometallic systems to study fundamental reaction chemistry, and to design novel catalyst systems.
Merola has received numerous awards and honors, including being awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Certificate of Teaching Excellence multiple times. He also became a fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2019 and is also a fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.