TO: University of Idaho Faculty and Staff
FROM: Scott Green, President
DATE: Aug. 11, 2020
SUBJECT: Christopher T. Nomura Appointed Vice President for Research and Economic Development
I am pleased to announce the selection of Christopher T. Nomura as the Vice President for Research and Economic Development. The appointment is effective Oct. 1, 2020.
Christopher replaces Janet Nelson, who served in the position since 2016. Brad Ritts is serving as Interim Vice President, a position he has held since February. I am grateful to Brad for his commitment and excellent service to the university.
Christopher, who is tenured in the Department of Biology, comes to the University of Idaho from the State University of New York (SUNY) in the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where he served as Vice President for Research and was a professor of biochemistry. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from University of California at Santa Cruz and his doctoral degree in biochemistry, microbiology and molecular biology at The Pennsylvania State University.
Christopher is an internationally recognized scientist/administrator with an outstanding record of publications, grantsmanship and student mentoring. He has more than 85 publications in top journals in his field in addition to book chapters, conference proceedings, new technology disclosures and popular press articles. Christopher serves on several editorial boards.
He is part of a multi-disciplinary research group whose interests span the fields of molecular microbiology, microbial physiology, metabolic engineering, protein engineering, biochemistry, synthetic chemistry, and polymer chemistry with a focus on producing sustainable materials. In his current position, he oversees McIntire-Stennis funding coming to SUNY that is designed to increase forestry research focused on production, utilization and protection of forestland; to train future forestry scientists; and to involve other disciplines in forestry research. This experience will serve him well as U of I is also the recipient of McIntire-Stennis funding.
Christopher has an outstanding record of mentoring high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs and visiting scientists. He currently oversees six graduate students in his laboratory and has strong international connections to the RIKEN Institute (Japan), Hubei University (China) and Centro Nacional Patagonico (Argentina).
Christopher has extensive experience fostering industry collaborations and working with national and international research funding agencies. He brings a wealth of talent, energy and new ideas to U of I.
Thank you to the search committee, led by Michael Parrella, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. We are happy to welcome Christopher into the Vandal Family.
Scott Green
President
president@uidaho.edu
uidaho.edu/president
