Dr. David Benson has been named as the professorship’s inaugural recipient. The Wayne and Susan Cady Professorship in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering is the university’s first active named professorship.
Calvin University has named Dr. David Benson as the inaugural recipient of the Wayne and Susan Cady Professorship in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. The endowed professorship will allow Dr. Benson to receive funding to work on his research, as well as course release time. The project that will be supported by the Cadys is that of developing a resin to remove cobalt ions from water-based solutions, a project that is new to Dr. Benson.
According to an article on Calvin University’s website, Dr. Benson is quoted as saying, “It is an incredible honor to be named the first Cady Professor. Wayne and Susan’s generosity and vision are helping Calvin build on its strengths in research and student mentorship. Their support will allow us to explore new ideas that have the potential to make a real-world impact."
Dr. Benson, who has been teaching at Calvin University since 2008, went on to explain the cobalt project he will be working on. He said, "The project supported by the Cadys is actually a new project for me: We will develop resins that will selectively bind and remove cobalt ions from water-based solutions. Why is this important? Because cobalt use has exploded in the last decade from new batteries containing lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Cobalt is only mined in the Congo under hideous working conditions. We need better ways to recycle the cobalt that is already available in batteries to reduce the need to mine more cobalt. The only problem is cobalt and nickel are next to each other on the periodic table, and it is really hard to remove one without removing the other. We will apply basic concepts from inorganic (metal ion) chemistry to develop resins that selectively remove cobalt from water with a mixture of lithium, nickel, and cobalt ions."
Wayne Cady attended Calvin College before moving on to the University of Illinois to earn a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry. Susan Cady pursued a career as a librarian. Both of the Cadys credit their mentors from their time in college for encouraging them to pursue their chosen career paths, and as such, decided they wanted to create the endowed professorship to support faculty members who have been dedicated to taking on a mentor role for their own students. The Wayne and Susan Cady Professorship in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering will eventually become the Wayne and Susan Cady Endowed Chair in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.
Speaking of their decision to support the university in this way, Wayne and Susan said, “We are deeply honored to support Calvin University’s commitment to high-quality Christian education in chemistry and chemical engineering. We hope that this endowment will encourage faculty members like Dr. Benson to inspire and equip students to pursue advanced degrees and meaningful careers in these fields.”
Throughout his tenure at Calvin University, Dr. Benson has taught first-year chemistry courses and inorganic and analytical chemistry courses. His methods give students the ability to take part in immersive research opportunities and study under different approaches. He has also taken on an important role in maintaining the university’s science instrumentation to ensure students have access to the learning tools they need.
Ken Erffmeyer, who serves as the university’s vice president for advancement, said, “Dr. Benson exemplifies the qualities we seek to recognize with this professorship—dedication to student mentorship, a strong research agenda, and a commitment to Christian scholarship. We are grateful to Wayne and Susan Cady for their generous investment in our faculty and students, and we celebrate this milestone in the university’s history.”
For more information about Calvin University, visit the school’s website.