Joseph S. Merola
2025 Sigma Xi Fellow
For his distinguished career bridging industrial and academic chemistry—pioneering catalytic research in carbon monoxide and hydrogen chemistry and demonstrating exceptional leadership in departmental and institutional service.
Statement
“On arriving at Virginia Tech in 1987, I met some wonderful new colleagues including Professor James P. Wightman who honored me by nominating me for full membership in Sigma Xi in 1989 making me a 36 year member of the society. At different times in my career, I was active in various ways in the society assuming the role of President of the Virginia Tech Chapter of Sigma Xi from 2013-2015. The VT Chapter of Sigma Xi is fortunate to have scholarship funds available to award both undergraduate students and graduate students for their research and a real joy is to participate in reviewing those scholarship applications and to award them to deserving students. As President, it was a thrill to be able to preside over the induction of new members. Now, I can honestly say that being named a Sigma Xi Fellow is an incredible honor.”
Biography
Dr. Merola is a Professor of Chemistry at Virginia Tech where he has been on the faculty for 38 years. He received a B.S. in Chemistry from Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) in 1974 and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1978. He joined the Corporate Research Laboratories of Exxon Research and Engineering Company in New Jersy upon receiving his Ph.D. and remained there attaining the rank of Staff Chemist. While at Exxon, he worked on the mechanism of rhodium catalyzed hydroformylation and other aspects of catalytic chemistry utilizing carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
In 1987, Dr. Merola moved to the Department of Chemistry at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA as an assistant professor, was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 1991 and then full professor in 1995. From 1998 to 2001, he was the Associate Dean for Research and Outreach in the College of Arts and Sciences. From January 2001 until May 2002, he was acting Dean of the Graduate School with the specific task of separating the Graduate School from the Research Division and making it an independent entity. Following that, he was appointed Senior Administrative Fellow in charge of university restructuring. In that role, he directed the realignment of departments and colleges into a structure that has remained substantially the same to this day. In 2004 Dr. Merola was elected Chair of the Chemistry Department and remained in that role until 2010. During his tenure as chair, research expenditures increased putting the department in the top 20 of chemistry departments in the United States. In addition, during his time as chair, the department received the first of its many Virginia Tech Exemplary Department Awards.
During his time at Virginia Tech, he taught thousands of students ranging from freshman chemistry to graduate student classes and mentoring. In 1997, he won the University Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence and was inducted into the Virginia Tech Academy of Teaching Excellence. In 2013, he received the University Wine Award for Excellence in Teaching in recognition of a sustained record of excellence in teaching resulting in a second induction into the Virginia Tech Academy of Teaching Excellence.
Dr. Merola’s research continued to explore different homogeneous, transition metal catalysts often involving chemistry with CO and/or H2. A particular interest was in studying how different ligands can direct the chemistry at the metal center and he looked at ligands such as indenyl, trimethylphospine and biologically relevant ligands such as amino acids. In the case of indenyl, a very unusual ligand, Dr. Merola showed that the purported hapticity shift from eta-5 to eta-3 was responsible for its accelerated reactivity by isolating and structurally characterizing the eta-3 version. Dr. Merola’s most recent work began with looking at the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones using amino acids as the chirality source with metals such as rhodium and iridium. The use of amino acids inspired Dr. Merola to examine these compounds for biological activity uncovering compounds that were effective against mycobacterial infections, including tuberculosis and others that were effective against S. aureus including MRSA. An entire family of compounds were uncovered in each of those domains, and it was further shown that these compounds did not harm mammalian cells in vitro nor harm mice in a mouse model study. During the pandemic, a subset of these compounds were studied showing that several were very effective against SARS-CoV-2 while being benign for mammalian cells. This latter discovery may help in leading to a treatment of future viral pandemics.
Over the course of his career, Merola’s research led to the publication of over 100 peer-reviewed papers, 50 contributed talks at meetings and 40 invited lectures at meetings and universities.
The motto of Virginia Tech is “Ut Prosim”, “That I may serve.” Dr. Merola embraced that motto fully serving on multiple committees and commissions during his time at Virginia Tech and supporting the ideal of “shared governance”. In that light, Dr. Merola served as Faculty Senate President from 2013-2014 and then again from 2023-2024. Service as faculty senate president also carries with it being the faculty representative to the Board of Visitors, the university governing board. In his 2013 term, Dr. Merola initiated studies to further strengthen the role of faculty senate in university governance. That study culminated in 2021 with an entire new shared governance system was put in place that gave various constituent groups a proportionate role in governance and faculty senate a central role. Dr. Merola was inducted into the Virginia Tech Academy of Faculty Service and Academy of Faculty Leadership. Dr. Merola, in working with student groups, was faculty advisor at various times toe the groups, ACS Student Affliliates, Alpha Chi Sigma and Tau Beta Pi.
Dr. Merola’s service was not restricted to the halls of Virginia Tech. He was an active member of the American Chemical Society serving on the ACS Younger Chemist Committee from 1983-1987 and was a regular presenter and session chair at annual and regional ACS meetings. He was chair of the American Chemical Society Blue Ridge Local Section in 1997 a year in which the ACS Southeast Regional Meeting was held in that section. In other areas of service to the profession, Dr. Merola was a member of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Committee to write the Chemistry GRE Exam from 2000-2006 chairing that committee from 2004-2006. He was also a member of the ETS Committee to write the Major Field Test in Chemistry, 2009-2010.
Dr. Merola was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015 and was elected Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2019.