University honors Lake City native with alumnus award

A 1997 graduate of Lake City High School and alumnus of Francis Marion University returned to Florence County Thursday to accept an award from the university and to give a presentation on his current work.

Dr. Toby Nelson, a 2001 FMU alumni and currently a chemistry professor at Oklahoma State University, earned the Benjamin Wall Ingram III Young Alumnus award for successes in his professional field, loyalty and dedication to FMU and being a graduate within the past 10 years.

“I have gone to several universities and I can say (Francis Marion University) is comparable,” Nelson said of his time at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of South Carolina. “The (FMU) faculty is the reason I can do some of the stuff I can do now.”

Nelson said he felt “it’s amazing for me to get this award.”

“I just appreciate that they have chosen me and selected me,” he said. “Anytime your university thinks so much of you that they want to give you an award to celebrate your career, from Francis Marion and beyond, is just amazing.”

Nelson tries to visit Lake City every year and was struck by the changes in the area during his recently visit during the holidays.

“I went around the city and noticed all the buildings they have that went up. It’s really amazing what has happened in maybe the last five years,” said Nelson.

His visit this time didn’t allow for a stop in Lake City and Nelson was disappointed to miss participating in the Ronald E. McNair Candlelight Service held Saturday.

“I remember as a child watching him being in a parade,” said Nelson, “I even remember when I first saw him go in to space.”

“Ronald E. McNair has been a very big inspiration for me,” he said. “Not just the scientific part, but his commitment to education. He had a huge commitment to education and trying to educate the next scientist and engineers,” said Nelson.

Nelson shares that commitment and relishes his teaching position educating chemistry students in Oklahoma.

“Right now, I love teaching,” Nelson said.

“We need to inspire the new scientists. We have to make sure they know what we’re doing, what is going on in the world, and that we need them to do good in math, do good in science, and even English, so that they will be able to take over for us,” he said.

Nelson’s current work also looks to the future with research into power generation processes. One process Nelson is researching is based around melanonin – the pigment that determines how dark hair, eyes and skin appear.

“I’m interested in making these new building blocks of polymers,” said Nelson, “and using it as a way to absorb more of the sunlight which we can then convert to electricity.”
Additional research includes thermoelectrics, which coverts heat energy into electricity.

Nelson said his research also includes “using plastics as a way to make flexible and cheap thermoelectrics that can be used in similar fashion, - maybe in tandem – with solar cells, where we can get heat from the sun and convert that to energy.”

Nelson also said these types of research into green energy technologies “is something that I think can spark our economy.”

“”We need more scientists. We need more engineers. We need more things coming in so we can actually be able to make, not just the United States, but this world a better place, more green, and energy safe.”