Peter Kenneth Dorhout is an American professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and the vice president for research at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. He was the 2018 President of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

(ACS). As an advocate for science, he has had the opportunity to talk to United States congressional staff about the importance of basic science funding through the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

Education and career

Dorhout earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

, followed by a Ph.D. in chemistry from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. Afterwards, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the

Ames Laboratory. He joined the

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

(CSU) as an assistant professor of chemistry in 1991 and became a full professor in 2002, the same year he became the associate dean for research and graduate education for the college of natural sciences. As associate dean, he was involved in the creation of the Undergraduate Research Institute. In 2004, he moved to the provost's office to become the interim vice provost for graduate studies and assistant vice president for research. He was appointed to both positions on a permanent basis in 2005. As vice provost, he played a key role in establishing the

Colorado School of Public Health The Colorado School of Public Health is an accredited, collaborative school of public health representing three Colorado public educational and research institutions: the University of Colorado, Colorado State University and the University of Nort ...

, a collaboration between CSU, the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

and the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

, which opened in 2008. Dorhout was also involved in the creation of six new master's programs as well as four doctoral programs and was involved in the university's initiatives and partnerships in Asian countries, particularly China and India. Dorhout's research interests include thin film materials,

solid-state Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their use ...

and

environmental chemistry Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source. It can be defined as t ...

, as well as

actinide The actinide () or actinoid () series encompasses the 15 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers from 89 to 103, actinium through lawrencium. The actinide series derives its name from the first element in the series, actinium. The inform ...

and

radiochemistry Radiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes (often within radiochemistry the absence of radioactivity leads to ...

. His projects have spanned areas such as heavy metal detection and remediation,

nuclear nonproliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as " Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Wea ...

and ferroelectric

nanomaterials * Nanomaterials describe, in principle, materials of which a single unit is sized (in at least one dimension) between 1 and 100 nm (the usual definition of nanoscale). Nanomaterials research takes a materials science-based approach to nan ...

. He is the author of over 110 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and edited books. In 2011, Dorhout accepted a temporary appointment as provost at the

Colorado State University–Pueblo Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) is a public university in Pueblo, Colorado. It is a member of the Colorado State University System (CSU System) and a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). History 1933 to 1959 The idea for startin ...

. In January 2012, Dorhout became the dean of college of arts and sciences at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. In 2016, then President

Kirk Schulz Kirk Herman Schulz (born May 11, 1963) is an American educator, currently serving as the 11th president of Washington State University, a position he began on June 13, 2016. Prior to serving at Washington State, Schulz was the 13th president of ...

appointed him vice president for research after a nationwide search. Since 2021, Dorhout has served as the vice president for research at

. He was appointed to a second term in the role in 2024. Dorhout served as president of the

in 2018.

Awards and honors

* American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow (2017) *

Fellow (2013) *Oliver P. Pennock Service award (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorhout, Peter Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Colorado State University faculty 21st-century American chemists