AFFILIATION
Executive Director, The Fralin Life Sciences Institute
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Virginia Polytechnic and State University (Virginia Tech)
224G Steger Hall
Mail Code 477
Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
CONTACT INFORMATION
phone: (202) 599-7274
e-mail: tunnellsu at gmail dot com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robin-mccarley-b364931/
VT Website: mccarley.fralinlifesci.vt.edu
Google Scholar: McCarley Page
Web of Science Page: ResearcherID F-4483-2014
ORCiD: McCarley Page
Academic Tree: McCarley Page
BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY
Prior to joining Virginia Tech (VT), Dr. McCarley was a rotating program director at the US National Science Foundation in the Division of Chemistry for four years. He began his academic career at Louisiana State University in 1992, where he quickly rose through the professoriate to the second-highest rank in the 9-campus LSU system, Endowed Alumni Professor. Dr. McCarley was with the University of Texas at Austin as an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow (1990–1992). He received his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1986–1990).
Dr. McCarley’s research interests include fluorescent probes of disease-linked biomarkers, liposomal drug delivery systems, surface chemistry, polymer chemistry, nanoscience, and bioanalytical/physical chemistry, with current interests in stimuli-responsive materials for measurement science applications and tissue imaging. His passions with educational training focus on integration of research into lecture and laboratory courses, which has led to numerous funded projects for laboratory instrumentation improvements, as well as production of instructional videos for chemical instrumentation.
Dr. McCarley has received more than $20 million in external research funding. His work has been supported by awards from NSF, NIH, NIEHS, and The Dreyfus Foundation. Dr. McCarley has also consulted for the American Association for the Advancement of Science and several intellectual property law firms, and has been reviewer of proposals from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, National Research Council, Israeli National Science Foundation, and the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund. His efforts with improving undergraduate instruction and laboratories have led to more than a half million dollars in funding.
Dr. McCarley’s efforts have led to considerable recognition at the international, national, and local levels. He was recently elected (2023) a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors due to his significant contributions to advancing scientific knowledge for the greater good. As a result of Dr. McCarley’s scientific contributions, he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2011. He was recognized the same year for his stellar contributions to teaching and mentoring of students by receiving the Lake Forest College Richard W. Hantke Alumni Teacher Award.