Vice President and Associate Provost for Undergraduate and International Studies
Dennis Jacobs
Dennis Jacobs, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame since 1988, was appointed vice president and associate provost in 2004. Jacobs earned his doctorate in chemistry from Stanford University after receiving two bachelor’s degrees, in chemistry and physics, from the University of California at Irvine. In 2007, UC Irvine recognized Jacobs with a Lauds & Laurels Award for distinguished alumni.
Jacobs’ laboratory research involves the study of non-thermal processes at the gas/solid interface, for which he was awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation research fellowship in 1993. In 2008, Jacobs launched a year-long experiment on the International Space Station to record how polymeric materials (plastics) degrade as they are continuously attacked by energetic particles in low earth orbit. The research seeks to identify and inhibit the chemical pathways by which plastic materials are eroded on the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft. These experiments are part of a national effort to develop inexpensive lightweight materials for use in next-generation satellites.
Outside the laboratory, Jacobs has been a national and campus leader in the scholarship of teaching and learning, work that has led to a Kaneb Teaching Award, Madden Award, Shilts/Leonard Teaching Award and Presidential Award from the University of Notre Dame.
Jacobs was named a national Carnegie Scholar in 1999-2000. In 2002, the foundation recognized him with its highest honor, the U.S. Professor of the Year Award for Doctoral and Research Universities. The award honors dedication to teaching, commitment to students and creative approaches to education, and is the only national award to acknowledge teaching excellence.
In collaboration with community organizations, Jacobs also created a course in which students collect dust, soil and water samples from local homes to identify and reduce the risk of lead poisoning in young children. As students realize how their professional skills can immediately benefit the lives of South Bend families, the experience deepens the students’ commitments to civic engagement and social justice.
