College Honors Chemists Chang, Xiao at LORD Professorship Reception

On Oct. 17, the College of Sciences hosted a reception to recognize Wei-chen Chang and Yi Xiao, both associate professors in the Department of Chemistry, for being newly named LORD Corporation Distinguished Scholars. 

Seth Carruthers, director of global chemical technology at Parker Lord, and Tim Fornes, a technology fellow at Parker Lord, attended the event. Carruthers received a bachelor’s in chemistry from NC State in 1997 and serves on the College of Sciences Foundation Board of Directors. Fornes earned a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from NC State in 1997. Also present at the reception were Tammy Tian, a senior application engineer at Parker Lord, and Shilpi Vajpayee, process engineering and analytical services manager at Parker Lord.

Chang is the Thomas Lord, LORD Corporation Distinguished Scholar at NC State, while Xiao is the Hugh C. Lord, LORD Corporation Distinguished Scholar. The endowments were established in the College of Sciences by Parker Lord Corporation, a diversified technology and manufacturing company. Located in Cary, North Carolina, the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Parker Hannifin Corporation. 

Chang, who joined the NC State faculty in 2016, tackles challenges in the field of metalloenzyme catalysis. His research focuses on comprehending the mechanisms of enzymes involved in natural product biosynthesis in order to develop chemo-enzymatic routes to essential compounds.

Xiao joined the NC State faculty in 2021 and focuses on advancing biomaterials and biosensors for a variety of biotechnological applications. Recently, she has been working toward creating portable, commercially available devices for applications such as medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, drug screening, food safety and therapy.

“Recruiting and retaining exceptional faculty is a priority for all universities,” said Dean Lewis Owen. “We are eternally grateful to Parker Lord for helping us honor those who are leading the way in research, teaching and creativity.”