Why I Give
It was the year 1992 - it
was summer. Not only
had I completed my un-
dergraduate degree in
chemistry at the Uni-
versity of North Caroli-
na-Greensboro, but had
also married Sharon,
now my wife for twen-
ty-seven years. It was a
wonderful summer.
My undergraduate Pro-
fessors Terry Nile and
Jim Barborak had con-
Chris Killian, Ph.D.
vinced me to pursue my
Ph.D. in chemistry, and to do so at UNC-Chapel Hill. I was
wide eyed and a bit apprehensive in thinking on what
my upcoming graduate school experience would have in
store for me. Little did I know, that the next four years
would change the trajectory of my professional life in
ways I could not imagine at the time.
During my first year at Carolina Chemistry, I was chal-
lenged and inspired by professors Templeton, DeSimone,
Evans, and Brookhart. The academic course work was in-
tense and challenging, but also brought with it the broad-
er Carolina experience and a lot of new friends. Being a
newlywed made my time at Carolina Chemistry one of
the best experiences of my life.
Spring semester of my first year, I was invited to join Pro-
fessor Maurice Brookhart’s research group to work on
Ni and Pd catalyst for olefin polymerization. Professor
Brookhart epitomizes the collegial nature and spirit of the
UNC Department of Chemistry. He is a first-class human
being of high character, a great teacher, mentor and ad-
visor. He often invited his group up to Franklin Street for
food and fellowship. We also spent many evenings at his
home enjoying his and his wife Mary Hughes’ hospitality.
Brook challenged us all to develop a first principles un-
derstanding of the research we were pursuing–a prin-
ciple I have instilled in the teams that I have led in my
twenty years of leading R&D organizations.
Professor Joe DeSimone also had a tremendous impact
on my academic and professional development. The na-
ture of my research had both a heavy organometallic
component and a heavy polymer component, leading me
to become an adopted member of the DeSimone group.
4 | CHEMISTRY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
Joe was an incredible mentor and teacher. I began to
shape my leadership style and professional ambitions
through weekly engagements with him. He took a special
interest in me and my work, which I appreciate to this day.
My research opened many doors, including an industrial
collaboration with DuPont and many speaking engage-
ments. Upon graduation, I knew I wanted to go into indus-
try, do research for a period and then grow into technol-
ogy/R&D management.
Shortly after my defense and graduation, I took a position
with Eastman in 1996, after considering offers from sev-
eral global chemical and materials companies.
My time in the UNC Department of Chemistry prepared
me well for my career at Eastman and for a life-long jour-
ney of personal/professional growth and development. I
have had the chance to lead teams in the commercial-
ization of dozens of new products, including Eastman
Tritan™ copolyester, new to the world engineering plas-
tic, and Visualize Material™ 500, used in compensation
films for smart phones. I am currently Vice President of
Technology for two of Eastman’s four reporting business
segments.
Sharon and I have given back to the department in many
ways over the years, including regular financial contri-
butions and through my participation on the Chemistry
Advisory Board. Very recently, Sharon and I have chosen
to have a long-term strategic impact on the quality of the
graduate student experience through the creation of an
endowed fund for supporting graduate students in the
department.
This was an easy choice for Sharon and me to make, as I
can say with confidence that my time at UNC and the re-
lationships I built have been instrumental to the accom-
plishments I have been blessed to be a part of.
I hope that the current and future graduate students of
the UNC Department of Chemistry experience the bless-
ings of growth, personal/professional development, and
accomplishment that I did.
“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our
aim is too high, and we miss it, but that it is too
low, and we reach it.”
-Michelangelo
| CHEM.UNC.EDU