Peter Armentrout

A Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Armentrout was appointed the Henry Eyring Presidential Endowed Chair in 2018. He will begin his term on July 1, replacing Matt Sigman.

Earlier, Armentrout served as Department Chair from 2001 to 2007. During that time, he instituted several reforms regarding parental leave and secured funding for the David M. Grant NMR Center (Gaus House) and partial funding for the Thatcher extension to the South Chemistry Building.

Armentrout whose research spans thermochemistry, kinetics and the dynamics of simple and complex chemical reactions, early on invented and constructed the guided ion-beam tandem mass spectrometer which has provided highly accurate thermodynamic measurements on a multitude of chemical species. He says of the appointment to interim department chair, “I am honored to be asked to take the reins of this exceptional department for a couple more years. The research and teaching abilities and collegiality of this faculty are second to none and will enable us to collectively advance and lead within the U. I look forward to working with them as well as our supporters outside the university system in the near term.” 

Peter Trapa, dean of the College of Science, said of the appointment, "In addition to being a world-class chemist with a towering international reputation, Peter is also an exceptional teacher, mentor, and administrator. His appointment as interim chair will continue to advance Utah's Chemistry Department as one of the best in the world. I look forward to working with Peter as we continue to build on the department's strengths.”

Trapa continued, “I'm also deeply grateful to Distinguished Professor Matt Sigman for his outstanding leadership as chair over the past five years. Matt’s contributions to the department, especially his unwavering commitment to excellence, will be felt for many years to come.”

A member of the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society (fellow), American Society for Mass Spectrometry, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (fellow), Armentrout presently has over 560 research publications that have appeared in the literature. Forty-four students have received their PhDs with Professor Armentrout.

In 2011, he received the prestigious Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence from the U — the university’s highest honor awarded to a faculty member.

Kip Solomon

Solomon holds the Frank Brown Presidential Chair in the Department of Geology & Geophysics and will replace William Johnson as department chair also beginning July 1, 2024.

Solomon has a PhD in Earth Sciences from the University of Waterloo and BS and MS degrees from the U’s Department of Geology and Geophysics. He joined the department in 1993 and served as chair from 2009-2013.

His research includes the use of environmental tracers to evaluate groundwater flow and solute transport processes in local-to regional-scale aquifers. He has developed the use of dissolved gases including helium-3, CFCs and SF₆ to evaluate groundwater travel times, location and rates of recharge, and the sustainability of groundwater resources. He constructed and operates one of only a few labs in the world that measures noble gases in groundwater. His research results have been documented in more than 120 journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports.

Outgoing chair Johnson said of his replacement, “Kip will be a steady lead as ... [recent] changes settle and as additional institutional changes occur.”

Solomon thanked his predecessors: “Geology and Geophysics is a great department and has been strengthened considerably by the hard work and dedication of previous chairs Thure Cerling and Bill Johnson. With new hires and academic programs, the future looks very bright.”

In September Solomon will receive the 2024 O.E Meinzer Annual Award by the Geological Society of America.

By David Pace and Ashley Herman