James L. Skinner appointed director of Water Research Initiative at IME

Renowned theoretical chemist James L. Skinner has been appointed to the Crown Family Professorship and named director of the Water Research Initiative at the Institute for Molecular Engineering. His five-year term will begin Jan. Skinner joins IME after serving for 26 years as director of the Theoretical Chemistry Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and four years as chair of the Department of Chemistry. The Joseph O. and Elizabeth S. Hirschfelder Professor of Chemistry, Skinner is the world leader in the theoretical and conceptual understanding of hydrogen bonding in water. Among many other accomplishments, he and his team are noted for their calculations detailing hydrogen bonding, the factor that dominates and complicates water properties. 'I'm very excited to join IME,' Skinner said of his appointment. 'Its world-class researchers have accomplished a very considerable amount in a short period of time, including laying the groundwork for the Water Research Initiative.