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ferrofluid with nanomagnets

Professor of Chemistry Wins SEC Faculty Achievement Award

The Iron Man of UF has won again. Professor of Chemistry George Christou, known for his research in nano-magnets, has received the SEC Faculty Achievement Award for his accomplishments. The Southeastern Conference, an athletic association comprising 14 academic institutions, has honored one faculty member from each institution for the past six years. This year, they surprised Christou with the award in his classroom — an appropriate place, considering Christou’s numerous honors for his teaching excellence.

George Christou holds model of molecule

George Christou in his office with a molecule model Bernard Brzezinski/UF Photography

Previously, Christou, who serves as the Drago Chair of Chemistry, was named UF’s Teacher-Scholar of the Year for 2015–2016. Christou has also been appointed to the Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars, an honorary organization of exceptional professors and the advisory board to the Provost’s Office.

Christou has received international acclaim for his discovery of single-molecule magnets and metal-oxo clusters—microscopic, long-lasting substances with applications to medical, computing, and industrial technologies. The United Kingdom’s Royal Society of Chemistry awarded Christou the 2016 Nyholm Prize for Inorganic Chemistry for his pioneering work. Christou was also one of only two Florida chemists named as a fellow of the American Chemical Society for 2016.