Kelsey Cook is a native of Denver Colorado, where he earned a BA (Magna cum Laude) in Chemistry from Colorado College (1974). He pursued a PhD in analytical chemistry with Jim Taylor at the University of Wisconsin – Madison (1978), investigating hydrogen bonding interactions using a supersonic molecular beam/photoionization mass spectrometer. He commenced his independent academic career at the University of Illinois – Champaign/Urbana in 1978 (where he was a Fellow in the Center for Advanced Studies), and moved to the University of Tennessee – Knoxville in 1984, where he collaborated extensively with colleagues at nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In Illinois and Tennessee, he directed thesis research of 17 PhD and 9 MS students, studying research on mass spectrometric ionization mechanisms, with applications in process, polymer, and bioanalytical chemistry. This work resulted in 85 publications in respected journals, including Analytical Chemistry, PNAS, JACS, and JASMS.
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In Tennessee, he co-founded the East Tennessee Mass Spectrometry Discussion Group, co-chaired the 1999 Southeast Regional ACS Meeting, and directed the NSF Measurement and Control Engineering Center and an NSF Research Site for Educators in Chemistry. He also served as chair of the local section of the American Chemical Society (ACS), treasurer of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS), and co-chair of the Council for Chemical Research’s Action Network on Research Collaboration. He is a member Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi; a 50-year member of ACS and ASMS; and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He served as a founding Associate Editor of the ASMS Journal (1989 – 2016).
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He began a second career at the National Science Foundation in 2006, serving first a 2-year term as a rotator in the Analytical and Surface Chemistry program (Division of Chemistry), then returning as a permanent Federal employee in 2009 to lead the Chemical Measurement and Imaging (CMI) program. At NSF, he served details as a Senior Policy Analyst at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (2011-12); a Staff Associate in the Office of the Assistant Director for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (2012-13); and Acting Section Head for International Science and Engineering (2013-14). In the year of Dr. Cook’s retirement (2024), the CMI active award portfolio totaled over $90 million, of which he had direct responsibility for nearly $36 million and 85 awards (including the NeXUS laser at Ohio State), and managed new expenditures totaling over $20 million, including over $3 million in co-funding received from other programs across the Foundation. He received special recognition at NSF for efforts in leading and coordinating a new cross-cutting science initiative in biotechnology; dedication and unyielding perseverance that led to the successful inauguration of the CHE Mid-scale Program; efforts relevant to inter- and intra-agency collaboration; and for exceptional service on the Council for Financial Assistance
Reform.