He served for 14 years as Director of Northwestern’s Materials Research Center where he expanded research opportunities for minority students and pre-college science teachers. He currently directs the International Materials Institute for Solar Energy and Environment which has collaborative activities in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Mideast.

An enthusiastic proponent of interdisciplinary education, he has created many groundbreaking programs that transfer the latest cross-cutting research into pre-college classrooms. In 1993, in addition to Materials World Modules (MWM), he launched the first Research Experiences for Teachers program which the National Science Foundation (NSF) subsequently adopted as a foundation-wide program for teachers’ professional development. In 2004, he established the Nanotechnology Center for Learning and Teaching to educate a nano-literate workforce and citizenry. In 2005, he was honored with the NSF Director’s Distinguished Teaching Scholar Award for his contributions to integrated research and education.

In service to the global community, he helped to establish Materials Research Societies in many countries and regions including Africa and the Mideast. In 1991, he founded the International Union of Materials Research Societies, which now has 14 adhering bodies on five continents. Since 1995, he has led the development of the NSF Materials World Network through a series of international workshops in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Mideast. In 2012, he launched the Global Materials Network for Young Researchers. He is a member of numerous international advisory boards and a Fellow of the Materials Research Society and the American Vacuum Society.