Like the mountains he loves, Egon Matijevic is revered and feared: revered for his contributions to the field of colloid chemistry and feared because he holds himself and those around him to the highest of standards. More than one person describes him as a mountain of a man.

Egon – he insists that everyone call him by his first name – could be said to be at the pinnacle of his life and profession. The 84-year-old Clarkson professor is a world-renowned scientist and researcher, a teacher extraordinaire, a mentor and taskmaster to researchers from all over the world, a consultant and collaborator much sought out by business and industry, and a connoisseur of excellent food, fine wine, high-quality art and first-class travel. During his 49-year long tenure at Clarkson, he has created an internationally-known research center and influenced and inspired literally thousands of students, colleagues and businesspeople.

SCIENTIST AND RESEARCHER: "Mr. Colloids"

Known in international scientific circles as "Mr. Colloids," Egon has conducted some of the most advanced research in the field of colloid and interface chemistry, published the results in nearly 600 papers, lectured to academic and industrial audiences around the world and created, at Clarkson, a world-class center for research in his field.

At 84, he has no intention of stopping. He continues to advise and direct students and researchers and to log thousands of miles lecturing and consulting all over the world. His goal, he says, is to publish at 101.

"Why retire," he says. "Retiring is for those who don't like what they do. I love what I do. Besides," he jokes, "Bozica (his wife) says she would divorce me if I retired."

One way to gauge Egon's stature in his field is by the numerous awards and honors he has received including six honorary doctorates. He is the only individual to receive all three major awards of the American Chemical Society in the field of colloid chemistry. Three symposia have been held in his honor and three scientific journals have published special honor issues focusing on him and his research. He has received an honorary doctorate and the distinguished teaching award from Clarkson and, in 2002, the Egon Matijevic Chair in Chemistry was established. And these are only a few of the mountains of professional awards and honors he has accumulated.

At Clarkson, Egon's impact has been significant. He was instrumental in the transformation that led to Clarkson being designated as a university. He helped found the Institute of Colloid and Surface Science in 1965, the first of its kind in the U.S., and his research was a major component in obtaining funds for the Center for Advanced Materials Processing, which has been designated a New York State Center for Advanced Technology.

"Egon was one of the first faculty members at Clarkson to not only aspire to world-class excellence but to show that it can be achieved," says President Tony Collins. "It's a two-step process, a combination of setting a vision and achieving it, therefore demonstrating in a very practical way that it is absolutely possible.

"Many people know of Clarkson because of the history of colloid and interface science here," Collins adds. "He is a key player as a researcher and was the catalyst for attracting key researchers and faculty. He is one of the earliest and one of the best examples of how to build an excellent academic reputation. That's his crucial contribution to our campus."

TEACHER AND DISCIPLINARIAN: "A university is a sacred place"

But when Egon reflects on his illustrious career, it is not the awards that he talks about. It's the students he has taught and the researchers he has mentored.

For 30 years, Egon taught freshman chemistry: three classes a day, _____ times a week, 400 to 600 students in each class. He believes strongly that senior professors should teach entry level students.

"A university by definition is a society of scholars," Egon says. "First of all, faculty must be scholars. A university also is an educational institution. So the scholars should teach. If they don't want to teach, they should not be at the university."

"He has demonstrated that high quality teaching to the newest undergraduates is an essential component to making up a complete faculty member," Collins says. "Passing on knowledge, both the old and the newly-created, is just as important to him as creating knowledge."

Egon is known as an extremely enthusiastic and effective lecturer who can make the most difficult scientific concepts easy to understand. Dianna Jones Herrmann was a freshman engineering student in Egon's chemistry class in 1981 when she nearly failed the second exam. Always a good student, she was devastated and she wasn't confident about seeking help from this "authoritarian sounding professor with this booming Eastern European voice. But I thought, what have I a got to lose," she says, and walked up to his office door with no appointment and knocked. "He spent the next 30 minutes with me and explained everything to me so clearly that I got 100 on my next exam and did very well in the class."

"I try to relate things to the real world," Egon says. "I give practical and everyday examples and I tell about my personal experiences. I try always to show that chemistry is not just writing formulas."

Egon also is known for teaching not only chemistry but how to live one's life.

"If you teach," Egon says, "you are not just explaining a subject but how to write and how to think. I teach my kids how to behave at a table, how to be part of this culture."

For many years in the 1970s, Egon and Bozica hosted a program called FLAIR: Fun Living and Intellectual Recreation. They brought together undergraduate students to experience gourmet food and fine wine and to learn and practice table etiquette. He has always believed in education for life, Egon says, not just for a career.

Egon tells the story of a young man who came up to him after class one day.

"Always, after class, lots of people stay," Egon says. "This kid comes up and says, 'Prof, I have a personal question. I'm taking my girlfriend out and I don't know what wine to order.' 'Now that is important question,' I say. 'Pick a nice light white wine,' a Chenin Blanc. He writes it down: C-H-E-N-I-N B-L-A-N-C. About three weeks later, I meet him in the hallway. I say 'how'd it go,' and he gives me the thumbs up."

Inevitably, when discussing Egon's teaching, his reputation as a strict disciplinarian comes up. Students talk about how you didn't want to be late to class. "I don't think he locked the door but he glared at you," Herrmann says.

"I was very much keen on discipline," Egon says. "Everyone who was late went to the back row. I'd see a young man sleeping and I'd say 'You get up and get out' and four guys would get out."

Egon is not at all apologetic about expecting his students to pay attention and show respect. "I feel about university the way some people feel about church; it is like a sacred place where you go to get your future in some way directed for the rest of your life. There should be some décor. You'll never see me in class without a necktie. I don't believe faculty should go in jeans and sweatshirts. Students want to look up to faculty."

MENTOR AND TASKMASTER: "I am tough"

Egon is known for high standards in the laboratory as well as the classroom. He has advised more than ______ Ph.D. and M.S. students and attracted more than ____ researchers from around the world to work in his laboratory.

"They (researchers) don't survive with me if they're not good," Egon says. "I am tough. For one thing, it's a big effort to find and educate people if you do it seriously. And I maintain high standards of professional and ethical behavior. But I also encourage people to argue when we discuss things, to say their own view."

Andrei Zelenev, now a senior research scientist at Nalco Co. in Naperville, Ill., remembers well the high standards expected of his researchers by Egon. He worked as a researcher in Egon's laboratory for seven years.

"Everyone working in his lab was expected to work hard and publish papers," Zelenev says. "He is simply intolerant to ignorance and expects hard work. Although there were no formal rules, we were expected to work in the lab in the evenings and on the weekends. Egon himself had set an example of a hard worker; it was not uncommon to have a discussion on the project with him at 9 p.m. in the evening or on Saturday afternoons."

Dan Goia, who is now a research scholar and associate professor of chemistry at Clarkson, found Egon demanding and extremely thorough as his advisor for his Ph.D. "He will cover everything, consider all aspects. And he has very high standards in how you write a paper or make a presentation or teach a class. He's a perfectionist and he always makes the people around him better."

As with many of his students and researchers, Egon has been not only a mentor in science for Goia, but a mentor in a broader sense. Goia, who came to Clarkson from industry, says: "Egon has been a guide to what I should expect in academia. He is good at explaining why things are the way they are."

Dr. William Bosch has noticed Egon's dedication to his former students and researchers. Egon worked as a consultant for nearly 15 years with Bosch, who is director of pharmaceutical research at Elan Drug Delivery Inc. in King of Prussia, Pa.

"As a scientist, Egon has a keen ability for simplifying things and looking at them at a fundamental level," Bosch says. "He always keeps in mind the purpose of the research. And he really cares about the professional development of his students and post-docs. He helps them get jobs, he keeps in touch, he's always inviting them to meetings at Clarkson. He's very caring of his research team."

COLLEAGUE AND FRIEND: "A glass of wine helps any conversation."

Egon and Bozica have made lifelong friendships in their years in Potsdam. Known as flamboyant and generous hosts, they have opened their home to students, faculty, community friends and visitors from all over the world.

In 1972, Egon asked Dick Partch, professor of organic chemistry at Clarkson, to co-advise one of his Ph.D. students. That was the beginning of a strong friendship between Partch and Egon as well as the onset of collaborative research in a pioneering field combining organic and inorganic chemistry.

"Egon introduced me to colloid science," Partch says, a field that few organic chemists participated in at that time. "As a research scientist, he is extremely driven to excellence and publication. And he expects his collaborators to stand up and be counted, not to do what he says but to think on their own and be creative."

Partch and his family have participated in numerous social occasions hosted by the Matijevics. "They are quick to invite over new faculty and administrators and make them feel welcome," Partch says. "Egon's charisma is outstanding and he and his wife are extremely generous. And it is clear to anyone that he has relied on Bozica over the years. She has supported him to the ultimate."

Partch describes Egon's and his relationship as like a father and son. "He said to me once 25 years ago that he thought of me as a son," Partch says. "That's the only hint I have that I've succeeded in his eyes. But I think he's satisfied with my professional achievements and stature. I've never heard him say 'Good job, Dick,' but I've never heard my own father say it either. I don't expect him to but I have to believe he knows that I haven't let him down."

Though their academic specialties do not overlap, Egon and Petr Zuman, professor of chemistry, also have developed a strong friendship through their years at Clarkson. Zuman especially likes to talk about the many evenings he and Egon have spent with friends over a delicious meal with fine wine and stimulating conversation.

"We are not talking about science usually," Zuman says. "It's opera or world politics. These are lively discussions and sometimes there are fireworks. The rule is, no politics until after the meal. It is not good for digestion.

"Egon and I are enjoying good wine," Zuman adds. "I try to find, whenever he comes to our place, something out of the ordinary. In most cases, it works. A glass of wine helps any conversation."

ARTISTS AND SCIENTISTS: "Creativity in common."

In addition to his appreciation of fine cuisine and wine, Egon is a patron and collector of art including bronze sculptures by his late friend, Australian artist Guy Boyd, and stonework, bronze and paintings by his longtime friend, the Italian Domenico Colanzi. He and Bozica have donated numerous pieces of art to Clarkson.

"Too many scientists have limited interests," Egon say. "I wanted to do something beyond chemistry. It is easy to preach, but I try to influence with example. Frequently, artists and scientists don't understand each other, but they have something in common, and that is creativity."

LONG LIFE, GOOD FORTUNE

It is obvious that Egon has inspired many. Yet, when asked who inspired him, he answers with two simple examples: his father and his high school physics teacher. In Croatia, where he was born and raised, Egon's father ran a perfumery, which sold things such as soap and razors. "His dream for me was to make it into a pharmacy," Egon says, "which was a step up, but I wanted to be a chemist. He was a simple man, his family came from the mountains of Croatia. He had a limited education but he was very smart and had a great sense of humor. I got from him freedom of choice and all the opportunities to get through my schooling."

He also admired his physics teacher's sense of humor as well as his approach to science. "If the experiment was a flop," Egon says, "he'd say 'there's no such thing as a flop, no such thing as failure. Not every experiment shows what you want.'"

Egon is often asked why he chose to stay at Clarkson rather than move to another university or into industry. "In many ways, I have felt somehow at home here," he says. "I like to feel that I have influence. I'm proud of what has happened here over the years. At this stage of the game, why to change? The older you get, time becomes much more important. You can have your knee replaced but you cannot retrieve time. Long life is here, good fortune is here. Is a good epilogue."

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