Joseph Heppert, Ph.D.

Education:

• B.S., Chemistry, San Jose State University
• Ph.D., Inorganic Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Background:

Joseph Heppert, Ph.D. is currently Vice President for Research and Innovation and Professor of Chemistry at Texas Tech University (TTU). His office is responsible for fostering research, scholarship, and creative activity at TTU; for promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology transfer programs; and for regulatory oversight of research compliance and scholarly integrity. Heppert is currently a co-PI on the NSF Southwest I-CORPS Node project. Previously, he served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Kansas (KU), chaired the KU Chemistry Department from 2005-2009, and was the founding director of the University’s Center for Science Education from 2001-2009. He is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and currently serves on the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Budget and Finance, and is on the institutional advisory board for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

Heppert’s initial research focused on organ transition metal chemistry. He has also been active in projects to improve science teaching and science teacher preparation. He is past chair of the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Education. In this role he testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Science and the National Science Board on science education policy issues.

Heppert received a B.S. in Chemistry from San Jose State University in 1978, where he participated in heavy elements research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

He was awarded a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1982, and completed postdoctoral training at Indiana University.