Loyola University Chicago

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Distinguished Service Award - David Crumrine, Ph.D.

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes members for outstanding and dedicated service to the Chicago Section ACS. The winner of this year’s award is David Crumrine.

David’s interest in Chemistry was primed partly by his parents who taught Science, Math and some other classes in several Ohio high schools.  After one summer in an NSF high school chemistry program at Northern Illinois University, a summer NSF research opportunity at Ohio State with Albert Padwa, and a summer spent in Nitro, WV working for Monsanto with John Damico, his course was set. A PhD in organic photochemistry with H. E. Zimmerman from U of Wisconsin-Madison was followed by Post-doctoral work with Herb House at MIT and Georgia Tech.

David’s initial ACS membership was part of a Senior award from Ashland College. Participation in the Chicago ACS Section was encouraged by two Loyola colleagues Carl Moore and Bruno Jaselskis. He worked on the Special topics committee arranging predinner talks, the high school Education Committee, and, since 1997, the Chemistry Day Committee, sometimes as co-chair with Tom Kucera.  With the help of Loyola colleagues, he has administered both the Local and National Chemistry Olympiad exams at Loyola since 2002.

David served as Chair of the Chicago Section in 2008. He served on the 21st ACS GLRM committee, which met at Loyola University Chicago in 1987, as Program co-chair of the 30th GLRM in 1997, as Program Chair for the 35th GLRM, and Program co-chair for the 38th GLRM held in Lincolnshire in 2009.  He has been an ACS Chicago councilor since 2001.  In that position, he has served on the ACS Publications committee (2002 – 2004) and subsequently on the Committee on Chemical Safety, and he has chaired the Resources Subcommittee for several years. 

In 1994 David organized, with David Boykin, an international symposium on Group VI NMR at the Washington ACS meeting, and in 2007 organized, with Laren Tolbert and Steve Fleming, an international symposium honoring H. E. Zimmerman’s work at the Boston ACS meeting.

David started at Loyola University working on N-nitrosamine photochemistry and reaction mechanisms, and taught 6 different classes in 1.5 years before he repeated one. A year’s leave to learn more about NMR Spectroscopy working first with Hiizu Iwamura of the Institute of Molecular Science in Ozkazaki, Japan and then with Gordon Lowe of The Dyson-Perrins Laboratory at Oxford University in 1980-81 was a big plus for the whole family, and a break into Oxygen and Sulfur NMR.  The fall semester 2007 spent with Manuel Diaz of the Cancer Center at Loyola University Medical Center helped him to learn more about research and techniques related to cancer biology.  He has published 37 refereed research papers and two review articles working with outstanding graduate students, undergraduate students, and colleagues.

David was named a Master Teacher of the college of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University in 2004 and was nominated again in 2009.  He was asked to join the Office of Research Services in 1997 where he was in charge of handling grant applications and awards and responsible for committees such as IRB, IACUC, and Radiation Safety.  He became Asst. VP for Research before returning full time to Chemistry to be Chair from 2002 to 2006.  This position afforded him the opportunity to interact with the Chemistry Chairs of other Jesuit Universities from around the world.

In fall 2010 David was asked to be the Acting Director of CUERP (The Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy), which produces biodiesel fuel, organizes Solutions to Environmental Problems classes, and is involved with Sustainability issues.  He currently serves on a number of University Committees.
A large number of colleagues and friends, research leaves to Japan, England, and Europe, trips with Jesuit chairs to Belgium and Spain, Regional and National ACS meetings, various Chemistry conferences, and a recent graduate reunion in Ireland were all very pleasing consequences of David’s career. 
David and his wife Sheila enjoy their combined families and share Dave’s 94 year old mother, their 4 sons, two daughters-in-law, a granddaughter due in May and a wonderful life together.