Patricia L. Lang
Professor Emerita of Chemistry
Dr. Patricia Lang received her Ph. D. in Physical Chemistry in l987 from Miami University. She joined the Ball State Chemistry Department immediately after. She became the first tenured woman in the department and earned the rank of Professor. Lang served as Department Chair for six years and Acting Associate Dean of the Honors College for two.
Dr. Lang maintained an active research agenda with numerous publications and presentations. She has mentored over 70 students in the use of infrared spectroscopic techniques for the analysis of materials, including medieval pigments.
A successful teacher, Lang was awarded the BSU Excellence in Teaching Award that allowed her to teach her dream course, Artists’ Pigments. The class coauthored a paper which reported on the identification of pigments on a medieval sculpture which they performed. The publication appears in Collaborative Endeavors in the Chemical Analysis of Art and Cultural Heritage Materials, a book which Lang edited.
Lang is proud to have received the University Diversity Award in Fall 2019. She was the Ball State Director for the NSF Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program for eight years. She co-authored the large Indiana LSAMP grant and works with colleagues at Ball State and throughout the state to increase the number of underrepresented students in the sciences.
In retirement Lang’s plans include playing competitive bridge, working on her mediocre game of golf, cooking, and enjoying the company of her husband Howard Hammer, family, and friends. Her backyard deck is open during warm weather for a beverage and conversation.