Purdue News

March 24, 2000 Purdue Nobel Laureate honored WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The scientific contributions of Purdue University Nobel Laureate Herbert C. Brown will be highlighted the week of March 27 in two separate events. On Friday, March 31, 11 speakers from industries and universities around the world will gather on the Purdue campus to attend a symposium celebrating the inauguration of the Herbert C. Brown Center for Borane Research. Saturday, April 1, Brown will oversee a series of public lectures on new developments in organic synthesis during the 17th annual Herbert C. Brown Lecture Series in Organic Chemistry. The new research center, established by Brown and his wife, Sarah, focuses on boron compounds and their chemical reactions. Brown, who is internationally recognized for his pioneering work in opening a new field of chemistry based on boron, said the center was established to carry on the important work he started more than six decades ago. "When I graduated from college, little was known about chemical compounds called boron hydrides," he said. "Now, virtually every major synthesis involves one of these compounds. It has revolutionized the low-cost production of medicines and agricultural chemicals, and it has been used to develop new ways to make plastics, paper and other products." In 1979, Brown was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in hydroboration and organoboranes. Still, he says, there remains much work to be done in this area of research. "I believe I found a new continent of chemistry," said Brown, who is the Wetherill Research Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Purdue. "We have explored only a small fraction of that new continent." During the inauguration, speakers from the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan and Poland will discuss the history of boranes and present new findings in the field. On Saturday, speakers from Columbia University, Stanford University, Kyushu University and Kurashiki University will talk about new developments in organic synthesis. The lecture series, which is open to the public, was established in 1984 to honor Brown and to provide an ongoing forum for faculty and students interested in current topics in organic chemistry. Lectures and research presentations will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude about 5 p.m. in Room 218, Stewart Center. Further information on the lecture series is available from P.V. Ramachandran, Department of Chemistry, (765) 494-5303. CONTACT: Susan Gaidos, Purdue News Service, (765) 494-2081; sgaidos@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page