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YSU prof earns rare honorary doctorate from Russian academy
The Vindicator
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Howard Mettee, a chemistry professor at Youngstown State University, talks about his time in Russia. Mettee received an honorary doctorate last December from St. Petersburg Forest Technical Academy.
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
A Youngstown State University chemistry professor’s collaboration and relationship with Russian educators earned him an honorary doctorate from a St. Petersburg academy.
“I got an email that said, ‘Would you mind if we gave you an honorary doctorate,’” said Howard Mettee. “Why would I mind?”
Initially, he wasn’t aware of the rarity of the honor.
“It turns out nobody can remember the last time they gave one — let alone to an American,” the professor said.
He wrote and delivered a five-minute speech in accepting the honor.
The St. Petersburg academy, which has since become a university, employs about 800 faculty and serves about 8,000 students, compared to the roughly 400 faculty and 16,000 students at YSU.
Mettee has traveled to Russia about 20 times in the last 20 years. Last year, he and a professor from the St. Petersburg Forest Technical Academy in St. Petersburg received a grant to derive biodiesel fuel from wood. That work — the bulk of which is occurring in Russia — is ongoing.
The $90,000 grant came from the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation and the Russian Federation Bureau of Research.
Wood is the fourth most important resource in Russia, behind oil, natural gas and coal, Mettee said.
“They have a lot of industry focused on the management of wood resources from forestry all the way to furniture,” he said.
Mettee’s interest in Russia started in the early 1990s. At a World Affairs Institute meeting in Pittsburgh, he met a Russian professor with whom he has since collaborated on a number of projects.
His first visit to Russia was as Rotary volunteer in 1992, shortly after the collapse of Soviet Union. He stayed for about two months. He didn’t speak the language, but kept a notebook with him, noting the words he learned and trying to learn the language phonetically.
He later became a Fulbright scholar in 1997 and taught a course to Russian students for about a year. During that time, he studied the language with a tutor.
Several other visits have followed. He says he speaks the language well enough to understand most conversations, but he’s less confident in technical language.
He loves the country, particularly the people, and says the experience of getting to know professors in Russia and learning about their research has been life-changing.
He credits the Rotary and YSU for his experience as well as the accomplishments he’s achieved.
“Without the Rotary, this never would have happened,” Mettee said. “Without YSU, it never would have happened.”