Joseph W. Kolis

Biography

Dr. Kolis earned his B.S. (1979) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and his Ph.D.(1984) at Northwestern University with Prof. D.F. Shriver and Prof. F. Basolo, working in organometallic chemistry. He conducted postdoctoral research (1983-85) at McMaster University with Prof. R.J. Gillespie and was appointed at Clemson in 1985. Dr. Kolis was the recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship in 1990.

Research Interest

"Dr. Kolis' group studies the synthesis and chemistry of novel inorganic compounds with unusual structures and properties. The group is particularly interested in chemistry under very unusual reaction conditions, such as with very high temperatures and pressures or in exotic solvents. One area of interest is the synthesis of solid-state inorganic compounds in supercritical fluids. When water or any other fluid is heated to very high temperatures and pressures (>400°C and 2000 atmospheres), it adopts chemical properties that are unknown under any other circumstance. The technique is an extension of the natural processes occurring deep in the earth in hydrothermal vents. Dr. Kolis' group uses this technology in the labs to grow single crystals of inorganic materials such as metal borates, silicates, phosphates, anadates and nitrides. These materials typically have properties that make them useful in new technology, particularly optics. For example, metal borates can act as nonlinear optical materials in the deep ultraviolet. Other materials under investigation include metal vanadates and tungstates, which are used as laser hosts and detectors."