Richard N. Zare is the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor at Stanford University. He is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and received his A.B. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. He has taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Colorado, Columbia University, and Stanford University. His innovative research uses lasers to investigate the dynamics of chemical reactions, study the spectroscopy of small molecules, and determine trace amounts of materials. This work spans a range of systems, including gas-phase reactions, processes on surfaces, and biological macromolecules. His numerous prizes and honors include election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, an honorary degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology-Zurich, the Pauling Award, the Gibbs Medal, and the Harvey Prize. Professor Zare is active in issues concerning national science policy and presently serves as a member of the National Science Board and as Chair of the Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications of the National Research Council.
*This lecture is for a general audience.
All lectures are open to the public.
All lectures to be held in Seaver Auditorium, College Avenue between 6th & 7th Streets.
ABSTRACT FOR THE FIRST LECTURE: "Laser-Based Chemical Analysis"
In the early days of lasers, many physicists said that this invention was "a solution in search of a problem." As lasers became available to chemists, however, their uses have grown at such a pace that no major chemistry department is without more than one such device. In the area of chemical analysis impressive advances have been made in research labs, but the full impact of lasers on analytical instrumentation still awaits the commercial development of lasers that are cheap, reliable, compact, and deliver many possible wavelengths. Many hope that diode laser systems will soon overcome these limitations. In the brief time allotted for this talk only a few highlights in laser chemical analysis can be described, such as the use of lasers in single-molecule fluorescence detection, and the use of lasers to enable unprecedented levels of sensitivity to be achieved in the new separation technique of capillary electrophoresis.
The Fred J. Robbins Lectureship
Pomona College takes great pleasure in presenting the Robbins Lectures for 1995, thirty-fourth in the series established by Mr. Robbins to bring to Pomona College distinguished chemists to discuss their current research.
Mr. Robbins' interest in founding the lectureship came in part from his career as a metallurgical engineer and in part from his interest in creative research which developed in his capacity as Chairman and President of a major specialty steel company.
ROBBINS LECTURERS
1962 MELVIN CALVIN Photosynthesis
1963 PETER DEBYE The Nature of Molecular Forces
1964 DAVID GREEN Mitochondrion and Membrane Systems
1965 FRANCIS CRICK The Structure of DNA
1966 LINUS PAULING The Structure of the Nucleus
1967 MARSHALL NIRENBERG Deciphering the Genetic Code
1968 JOHN KENDREW The Structure of Proteins
1969 JACQUES MONOD Molecular Biology and the Kingdom of Ideas
1970 MANFRED EIGEN Dynamics of Biological Macromolecules
1971 GEORGE WALD Vision
1972 ARTHUR KORNBERG DNA and Membrane Biochemistry
1973 EFRAIM RACKER Electron Transport Coupled Phosphorylation
1974 GERALD EDELMAN Molecular Immunology
1975 JULIUS AXELROD Neurotransmitters
1976 GEORGE PORTER Rapid Kinetics
1977 DAVID BALTIMORE Molecular Genetics
1978 WILLIAM LIPSCOMB Structure and Mechanisms of Enzymes
1979 MAX PERUTZ Hemoglobin
1980 ROSALYN YALOW Radioimmunoassay
1981 CHRISTIAN ANFINSEN Structure and Function of Proteins
1982 SYDNEY BRENNER Genetics of the Nervous System
1983 PAUL BERG Eucaryotic Gene Expression
1984 GABOR SOMORJAI Surface Science of Catalysis
1985 GERALD EDELMAN Sciences of Recognition
1986 ROALD HOFFMAN Bridging Organic and Inorganic Chemistry
1987 HERBERT BROWN Boron in Organic Synthesis
1988 JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN & Revelations from Biochemistry and Human Genetics
MICHAEL BROWN
1989 JEREMY KNOWLES Enzymes
1990 YUAN LEE Chemical Reaction Dynamics
1991 GERTRUDE ELION Chemotherapy - The Search of Selectivity
1992 DONALD CRAM Molecular Recognition in Complexation
1993 HEINRICH ROHRER Science for Our Future
1994 THOMAS R. CECH RNA Catalysis
1995 RICHARD N. ZARE Shedding Light on Chemistry