Rate My Professor John Lamb

John D. Lamb served as the Eliot A. Butler Professor of Chemistry and Associate Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Brigham Young University until his retirement in July 2014. Born in Ontario, Canada, in 1949, he earned his PhD in inorganic/physical chemistry from BYU in 1978. Prior to academia, he worked as a Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Energy. He joined the BYU faculty in 1984 with a joint appointment as executive director of research and creative activities until 1992 and later served eight years as associate dean of undergraduate education. Lamb chaired the BYU Faculty Advisory Council and the State of Utah Science Advisory Council. He was a visiting professor at three universities in Italy, one in Germany, and one in China.

Lamb specialized in inorganic chemistry with a focus on macrocycle-based separations and ion chromatography, authoring over 170 peer-reviewed papers and developing the online multimedia tutorial ChemTutor. He served twenty years as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry. His contributions earned the 2012 Ion Chromatography Award for sustained significant impact, presented at the International Ion Chromatography Symposium in Berlin, and recognition for applying host-guest chemistry to separations in collaboration with Dr. Roger Harrison. Lamb received the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award in 2013, the university's highest faculty honor; Maeser Excellence in Teaching award; 2012 Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award for 10+ years; Carnegie Professor of the Year in 2000; Maeser Excellence in Research and Creative Arts Award; BYU Outstanding Achievement in Sponsored Research Award; and Alcuin Fellowship. He delivered public lectures including the 2014 BYU Forum "All Ye Need to Know" and contributed to BYU Studies, influencing separation science through publications, editorial work, and mentorship.