Dave Ball

David B. Ball, Ph.D. has been a retired Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at CSU, Chico since 2010. He received a B.S. in chemistry from UC, Berkeley and a Ph.D. from UC, Santa Barbara. He had a post-doctoral appointment at Boston University, taught at the University of Chile, Santiago, and had a teaching-research postdoctoral position at UCSB before starting his independent career at Chico State in 1974. During his academic career at Chico State, Dr. Ball has been recognized as a Retired Faculty Hall of Fame inductee (2019); the Distinguished Emeritus Faculty in the College of Natural Sciences (2018); the Outstanding Research Mentor Award (2008, initial awardee); the Professional Achievement Award (2005); and the CSU Research Award (1998). Dr. Ball has also received several national research awards (NSF, ACS-PRF) on sabbatical leaves at UC Davis, UCSB, and UCSC (1996, 1995, 1992, and 1983). Since 2012, Dr. Ball and his undergraduate co-workers have been involved in collaboration with Professor Ron Tjeerdema, an environmental toxicologist at UC Davis, synthesizing degradation products of herbicides and pesticides used to evaluate their environmental outcome in California rice fields. During his academic career at Chico State, Dr. Ball has mentored fifty plus research students who have gone on to post-graduate studies in organic chemistry with most receiving a Ph.D.