Purdue News
Purdue News
|
|
September 18, 1998
McCoy Award winner to present distinguished lectureWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A Purdue University researcher known for his discovery of new kinds of molecular "coaches" that can be used to assemble pharmaceuticals, plastics and other useful compounds will present this year's McCoy Distinguished Lecture on Friday, Sept. 25.Ei-ishi Negishi, professor of chemistry, will speak on "Magic of Metal Empty Orbitals Played in the Synthesis of Substances of Benefit to Mankind" at 3:30 p.m. in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center. The one-hour talk is open to the public. A reception for Negishi will be held in the Stewart Center Art Gallery immediately following the talk. Negishi is the winner of the 1998 Herbert Newby McCoy Award, presented annually to a Purdue student or faculty member for outstanding contributions to science. His talk will feature highlights from his work in organometallic chemistry, a field that focuses on molecules containing carbon-metal links. Negishi is internationally recognized in the scientific community for developing chemical reactions that are catalyzed or promoted by metal-containing compounds. These reactions have allowed scientists to develop a wide range of compounds that can be used in biological and medical applications. Negishi grew up in Japan and graduated in 1958 from the University of Tokyo with a bachelor's degree. He first worked as a research chemist at Japanese chemical fiber producer Teijin. Between 1960 and 1963, he became a Fulbright scholar and obtained a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. He initially resumed his post at Teijin in Japan, but returned to the United States in 1966 to work as a postdoctoral associate in Herbert C. Brown's laboratory at Purdue. After holding a series of academic positions at Syracuse and Purdue, he joined the Purdue faculty in 1979 as professor of chemistry. In 1987, Negishi received a J.S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. In 1997, he received a Chemical Society of Japan Award, and is until the year 2000 holding an Alexander von Humboldt Senior Researcher Award. Earlier this year, Negishi received the 1998 American Chemical Society Award for Organometallic Chemistry. The McCoy Award was established in 1964 by Ethel Terry McCoy in memory of her husband, a Purdue alumnus. The McCoy lecture series later was established to honor the recipient of the award and to present his or her research to the Purdue community. CONTACT: Elaine Lambert-Happ, Division of Sponsored Programs, (765) 494-6776; e-mail, elambert@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
|
