Chemistry’s Ogle Receives First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal

Craig Ogle, the Charles H. Stone Professor of Chemistry, is the 2014 recipient of the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal. The prestigious award, presented by First Citizens Bank and UNC Charlotte, honors faculty scholarship and intellectual inquiry.

Ogle has made an indelible impact on the field of organic chemistry. Internationally and across the country, scholars and colleagues agree that Ogle is a preeminent leader of Rapid Injection Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (RINMR) spectroscopy research and practice, and he has been a mentor and role model to students and fellow researchers.

An award ceremony was held Tuesday, April 1, at the Harris Alumni Center to formally honor Ogle.

Presented since 1987, the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal is UNC Charlotte’s most prestigious faculty award in recognition of excellence in research.

“Craig has earned the reputation within his discipline and around the world as an effective and respected scholar,” said Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. “He epitomizes what the First Citizens Scholar Medal represents through his innovative research, remarkable scientific impact, and steadfast commitment to preparing undergraduate and graduate students for their future careers.”

Ogle is a world-class researcher in organic chemistry; his studies have answered important questions and provided unprecedented insight and analysis about key synthetic chemical processes that are often central to creating organic compounds like pharmaceuticals and other drugs.

Working with colleagues, Ogle has conducted pioneering studies in the use of RINMR spectroscopy, which allows researchers to observe and measure exactly how two reagents interact during the course of a chemical reaction. As a result of this work, researchers all over the world have a unique perspective into the exact science behind a reaction’s complexities and nuances that always have existed but were never truly understood.

A member of the Chemistry Department since 1984, Ogle was promoted to full professor in 1996. He has authored more than 65 peer-reviewed journal articles; almost all are co-authored by students involved in his work. He has received numerous grants in support of his research from several agencies, most notably the National Science Foundation.  He has served as director of UNC Charlotte’s Regional Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (RACheL) since its inception in 1996.

A graduate of Otterbein College, Ogle completed a master’s and doctorate in chemistry from the University of Arizona. He also served as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

“Our longstanding partnership with UNC Charlotte and the presentation of the Scholars Medal reflect our ‘Forever First’ commitment to the people, businesses and communities who rely on us to the best bank we can be,” said Mark Horgan, area executive for First Citizens Bank in Mecklenburg, Union, Stanley and Cabarrus counties. “First Citizens is proud to help honor an exceptional faculty member’s leadership and scholarship and to further highlight the important contributions UNC Charlotte and its faculty are making in the community, state and world.”

Now in its 27th year, the Scholars Medal was created to spotlight the important contributions UNC Charlotte and its faculty are making – not only in its community but also throughout the Carolinas, the nation and the world. Past award recipients have influenced scholarship in a number of academic disciplines.

Words by Paul Nowell; images by Wade Bruton. More images can be found on flickr.